Odd's Secret
by ducky76
Summary: The gang discover a secret Odd was keeping from them, but they find out too late. Now he could possibly die, and they're scared. Meanwhile, love blooms in an unexpected place. YU JA OS
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko... duh ;)**

**Summary: The gang discover a secret Odd was keeping from them, but they find out too late. Now he could possibly die, and they're scared. Meanwhile, love blooms in and unexpected place.**

**Ok. You may need to forget a few details from some episodes, like the one where they have their medical exams. I might have changed a few things. Enjoy!**

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"Odd, you have three hornets headed your way," Jeremie said as Odd finished destroying two other monsters. "You almost have Aelita to the tower. Do you think you can handle this without Ulrich and Yumi?"

"Sure thing Einstein," Odd said. "Come on Aelita. Let's make a break for it before those hornets show up."

Aelita nodded and they both ran to the tower. It was already in view when Odd heard the hornets and saw a laser narrowly miss his head. "I'll take care of this! Go Aelita!" He turned and shot an arrow, destroying a hornet instantly. The other two, however, were chasing after Aelita. "Hurry!"

She was no more than 10 feet from the tower, but the hornets were aiming at her. "Oh no!" she cried as a laser struck near her feet.

Odd ran after the hornets, shooting arrows at them, a distraction long enough to allow Aelita entry to the tower. He then ran past the tower to escape the hornets. A laser hit him in the back and he slipped off of the edge of a cliff. Fortunately his cat-like reflexes allowed him to grab the ledge and he found himself hanging above the digital void. "Jeremie I really wish you'd have let me know about this cliff," he said through gritted teeth.

"Just hang on a minute longer," Jeremie's voice said. "She's almost done."

"Ican't… I'm slippi- AHHH!"

Just as Odd fell, Jeremie said, "Return to the past," and a white light overtook everything.

* * *

Odd opened his eyes where he rested his head on his desk in Math class. He normally would have smiled after surviving the digital void, but he felt more reason to groan at his exhaustion and discomfort. Ulrich looked at him with concern. "Odd are you alright?" 

Odd nodded feebly and closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. His lungs felt as if they were restricting him of air, causing him to feel a bit nauseous, and he wasn't doing well at hiding it. Ulrich raised his hand urgently. "I think Odd needs to go to the nurse," he said to the teacher.

The blonde looked up slowly. "I'm fine," he lied.

The teacher looked at Odd in visual examination and noted the circles under his eyes and his flushed cheeks. "You do look pretty ill Mr. Della Robia. If you don't want to go to the infirmary then go to your room and lie down. I'm sure Mr. Stern will bring your missed work to you."

Odd groaned as he stood and left the room, leaving behind a worried friend.

* * *

At dinner, strong, silent Ulrich Stern found himself reaching all new levels of concern when Odd failed to show up. Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremie all sat at their usual table when the others began to worry as well. "He's going to miss dinner," Yumi said. 

"It's not like Odd to pass up spaghetti!" Jeremie said.

"Jeremie, I'm worried," Aelita said. "He did almost get deleted in the void. Maybe he was shaken up."

"As reckless as Odd is he's nearly fallen into the void many times," Yumi said. "It's never scared him before."

"He didn't seem upset to me," Ulrich said. "Just sick." He then sighed and stood with his untouched tray. "I'm not really hungry. I think I'm going to take this up to the dorm to see if Odd wants it."

"Tell him that we hope he feels better," Aelita said thoughtfully.

Ulrich nodded to them before leaving. Lost in thought, he barely took notice as his feet carried him to the room he shared with Odd. He pushed the door open and saw the blonde sprawled across his bed sleeping. "I brought you dinner," Ulrich announced.

Odd stayed asleep and Ulrich set the tray on the bedside table. Ulrich quickly took a second look at him when he realized he heard no snoring. "Odd?" After gaining no response he came closer to his friend and saw sweat on his face as he took shallow breaths. "Odd, wake up!" Ulrich said as he shook him gently. Odd's breathing was way too labored for his liking. "Odd!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews! I'm going to try to post up longer chapters than the first was, so here it goes…

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Jeremie, Aelita, and Yumi were just leaving lunch when Jeremie's cell phone rang, Ulrich's name appearing on the display. "Hello?" Jeremie answered. "Ulrich?"

_"Jeremie! Odd passed out and won't wake up!"_

"Does he heave a fever?" Jeremie asked. He'd never heard Ulrich so worried before.

_"Jeremie… It's like that time with the music! I… I've already called an ambulance… He's in bad shape."_

"Oh no… Ulrich we'll be right there!"

"What's going on Jeremie?" Yumi asked in confusion.

_"No,"_ Ulrich said. _"Just tell Jim or Mr. Delmas that Odd is sick so that they know why the ambulance is coming. You three need to go to the factory to check for any activated towers. This could be Xana."_

"Ok," Jeremie said. "Take care of Odd. It's all going to be alright."

_"Right. Bye." _He didn't sound to sure that it would be alright.

"Jeremie, what's wrong with Odd?" Aelita asked worriedly.

"He's passed out like he did that time that Xana attacked through that song," Jeremie explained. "Ulrich called an ambulance, so we have to tell the principal and get to Lyoko quickly."

"Sissi!" Yumi yelled out to Mr. Delmas' daughter as she passed by.

Sissi turned around with a sour look on her face. "What do you want?" she asked rudely with her hands on her hips.

"Can you please go get your dad for us?" Yumi asked quickly. "Ulrich just called an ambulance because Odd is unconscious and won't wake up."

"The scrawny dork?" Sissi asked, her expression suddenly softening as her face paled. "Are… are you sure he not just playing another prank on y-"

"It's serious Sissi," Aelita said sadly. "Please, your father needs to go there."

Sissi looked at Yumi's pleading face and realized this was no joke. "Where are they?"

"Their dorm," Jeremie said.

"I'll take him there," Sissi said and ran off.

* * *

Sissi led her father and the nurse to the boys' room hurriedly after they'd given Jim orders to take the paramedics there when they arrived. They found the door open and entered to see Ulrich desperately trying to wake Odd while tears streamed down his cheeks. Sissi was frozen with shock and quilt at seeing such a sad sight. Ulrich looked up at them. "Principal Delmas… He's… I think he's d… dying…"

Mr. Delmas put a hand on Ulrich's shoulder while the nurse, Dorothy took Odd from his arms. "He'll be alright," Mr. Delmas tried to reassure the upset boy. He looked over at his daughter, seeking assistance so that he could take a look at Odd with Dorothy.

Sissi sat next to Ulrich after he father had led him to the bed. "What happened?" she asked timidly.

"I don't know," Ulrich whispered. "I came to look for him and he was passed out. He's not breathing right…" He could hear the sirens of the ambulance at school.

Sissi set her hand on his, for once in a way that was intended only to be friendly, comforting, and unromantic. "It's going to be ok."

That was what Jeremie had told him, but he was depending on the chance that Xana might be behind this. Ulrich had a feeling, however, that Xana had nothing to do with Odd being sick. He tried to form a weak smile, but failed as these thoughts ran through his mind. "Thanks…"

Minutes later, Jim led two paramedics into the room, and they quickly pushed everyone away from Odd. A third paramedic pushed in a stretcher, which he lowered down beside Odd. One of the paramedics working on Odd announced his weak pulse, and the third turned to ask all of the surrounding people questions. Ulrich felt like the victim of a hostile interrogation as the man asked several times if he was sure there no warning signs.

As the three paramedics went to push Odd down the hall on the stretcher, Ulrich stood. "Can I go with him?" he asked unsurely. "If he wakes up… I don't want Odd to be scared."

"Hurry up kid," a female paramedic replied. Principal Delmas nodded and Ulrich went along with the Odd.

"Dorothy, fax the boy's medical files to the hospital," Mr. Delmas said. "Jim, I'm sure that the ambulance probably caused a big commotion. Try to get all of the students into their rooms. Just tell them that a student had a fainting spell."

"What about you, sir?" Jim asked, before obliging to the orders he'd been given.

"I'm going to head straight to the hospital," Mr. Delmas said.

"Daddy, can I come with you?" Sissi asked.

Mr. Delmas nodded. "Let's go Elizabeth."

* * *

"There's no activated tower on the screen," Jeremie said worriedly.

"What is Xana messed with the super computer again?" Yumi asked. "He's done it before."

"Yes," Aelita agreed. "We can go to Sector 5 and fix it. Then we'll deactivate the tower and save Odd."

"I'm afraid to send the two of you alone for such a long job," Jeremie said.

Aelita smiled at him comfortingly. "I've done it alone before Jeremie. "Ill be fine."

"Ok." Jeremie nodded to them. "Yumi you'd better hang in there the whole time. It could be harder than last time."

"Of course," Yuim replied with a wink. "You know, Einstein, you really should start working on some weapons for Aelita. It would help a lot."

"Just get in the scanners," Jeremie said, rolling his eyes.

"We're on our way." Yumi and Aelit quickly hurried off.

* * *

Ulrich sat with his head in his hands beside Sissi as her father tried to contact Mr. and Mrs. Della Robia about their son's condition. He was completely terrified of what might happen to Odd if this had no connection to Xana. Periodically, he checked his cell phone for any messages from Jeremie, and he became more worried every time nothing was there.

Sissi could sense his growing alarm, but she was also beginning to feel a great deal of concern for Odd. She felt confused by the realization that Odd meant more to her than she'd thought. Being near a miserable Ulrich didn't help much either, as she saw how deeply Odd affected him. People loved Odd. Why was it that she had always pretended to hate him? He was a nice person, and she felt horrible for acting otherwise. She wondered if it was her fault that she and Odd didn't get along all of the time. She silently swore to herself that if he got better she'd be nicer and get to know him better.

Both Ulrich and Sissi looked up as Mr. Delmas came back looking very frustrated. "I couldn't get in contact with them at all," he said. "And they have no answering machine."

"They're always busy," Ulrich explained reluctantly, knowing that Odd himself never liked to discuss it much. "Odd told me before that all they ever do is work and hand out with their friends, so it'll be hard to get a hold of them."

Sissi frowned at this. It sounded as if Odd's parents weren't really there for him much. That explained why Odd was such an attention-loving goofball. It made Sissi angry that two people could have a kid and still be so concerned with only themselves.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when Odd's cardiologist approached the three of them with a grim look on his face. "Mr. Delmas, correct?" he asked. "The principal of Odd Della Robia's boarding school?"

"Yes," Mr. Delmas replied. "How is the boy? Our nurse at school was concerned that this may have been caused by his heart condition. She never expected anything so severe, though she was a bit concerned about his unhealthy size."

Ulrich and Sissi looked at each other in confusion at the mentioned heart condition, but neither of the adults really elaborated on it. "His medical reports, if anything, indicated that his health was improving," the doctor said. "But his heart condition had somehow progressed. Seeing as you are serving as his guardian until his parents come, your consent is needed for the medications he needs. However, I'm not sure how long it can help for."

"Is the poor boy that ill?" Mr. Delmas asked worriedly.

"I'm afraid so," the doctor said. "He has been placed on the recipient list for a new heart. Medication can only do so much for him. In a matter of months his heart is going to fail. At least right now, he is stabilized."

Ulrich felt his chest tense painfully at the thought. He was more afraid than he could ever remember being.

"Do whatever you need to do," Mr. Delmas said. "Just help him and make sure it isn't too painful for him."

The doctor nodded and left. Ulrich and Sissi looked at the principal for answers. "Daddy is Odd going to be ok?" Sissi asked.

Mr. Delmas put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "He's very sick," he said sadly.

"What's wrong with his heart?" Ulrich asked softly.

Mr. Delmas looked at him in shock. "I'm surprised he never told you. You both seem close."

"Odd doesn't like to talk about bad stuff, no matter how important it is," Ulrich said. "Please, sir, I have a right to know."

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**Ok. So review if you want another chapter to find out why Odd is sick!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok guys, for the sake of my story, let's all pretend that Odd has never done any major team sports. I'm not really sure if he has at all, anyway, but I'm just telling you in case. Oh, and as far as Odd's illness goes… I have no idea if anything like it can really happen. As far as I know, it is completely made up.****

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Ulrich looked at the principal pleadingly. "Please, sir," he said. "I have a right to know."

"You're right," Mr. Delmas said with a nod. He sighed sadly. "Odd was born with a serious condition that causes the muscles in his heart to swell dangerously under intense strain. It was discovered when he was five years old. Doctors expected that when he got much older the swelling might cause this much damage to his heart, but no one expected this so soon. Since his arrival at Kadic, I have had to keep an eye on him, just in case, and he's been ineligible to be part of any serious sport teams. I guess we were right to be concerned with his involvement in such activities."

Ulrich's mind immediately wandered to Lyoko and to the many times Odd had put his body under the kind of strain Mr. Delmas was talking about. How many times had Odd ran all the way to the factory? How many times had Odd drained himself in Lyoko? And Ulrich couldn't forget, of course, the handful of times Odd had almost been killed. Sure, that was the case with all of the members of the Lyoko gang, but the rest of them were in good health. Anger rose inside of Ulrich, because Odd had knowingly put himself in more danger than the others just by doing the same things as them. "So Odd knew he would need a transplant if he got worse?" Ulrich said heatedly.

"Yes," Mr. Delmas replied. "No doctor knew what else to do for him. His illness has never really been seen before, so all of the treatments he has forgone have been strictly experimental. The poor boy. I don't think he was too happy with any of that. When his parents first brought him here, he seemed much happier to be at a boarding school than at home. Still, he is a very spirited boy."

Ulrich nodded. "He is." He looked at his feet miserably. '_I just wish he weren't dumb enough to put himself in so much danger.'

* * *

_

Jeremie looked at Aelita and Yumi sadly as they came out of the elevator. "I don't understand," Yumi said. "No towers… anywhere…"

"That means Xana has nothing to do with this," Jeremie said.

Aelita bit her lip. "What about Odd? Is he going to-"

"Maybe it was just a false alarm," Yumi cut in. "Maybe Xana activated the tower and then deactivated it. Odd and Ulrich are probably back in their dorm already."

"Let's go to the hospital," Jeremie suggested, skeptical of her theory. "Maybe he is doing better."

"I hope so," Aelita said.

Jeremie nodded. "Me too. I just… I have a bad feeling…"

* * *

The three of them found Ulrich with his head in his hands, alone in the waiting room. Mr. Delmas had gone to take Sissi home not too long before. "Ulrich?" Yumi asked nervously as they approached him.

Ulrich looked up numbly. "There wasn't a tower was there?" he said in a soft voice.

Jeremie shook his head and Aelita gasped as Ulrich's eyes filled with tears. "Damn it!" he cried as he covered his eyes with his hand. "No…"

Yumi knelt in front of him and grabbed one of his hands. "Ulrich what happened?" she asked.

"He didn't tell us Yumi…" Ulrich looked at her. "And…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

Yumi threw her arms around the crying boy and held him tightly. "Shh… It's ok…" She looked at the other two for support.

Aelita looked on the verge of tears, so Jeremie stepped forward. "Ulrich I realize you're upset," he said. "Please tell us what is wrong with Odd."

Ulrich nodded and wiped his eyes. "Sorry…" He looked at his feet shamefully.

"You're allowed to be upset," Aelita said as she sat beside him.

"I'm not upset!" Ulrich snapped, suddenly feeling more angry than sad. "I'm pissed off! Odd lied to us! To me… his best friend…"

"About what Ulrich?" Yumi asked. "Why would he lie to us?"

"Because we'd have stopped him from going to Lyoko if we'd known the truth," Ulrich replied. "He's a stupid liar!"

"I'm confused," Aelita said. "Why is Odd a liar? I thought you were upset because he was sick. Does lying make people sick?" (A/N: This takes place before Aelita knows she is Franz Hooper's daughter, so she still is naïve, since she lacks the memories of her life.)

"No Aelita," Jeremie said. "Lying is bad, but it doesn't make you-"

"In Odd's case it does," Ulrich said harshly as tears found their way to his eyes again. "And he knew it too…"

"Ulrich what are you talking about?" Jeremie asked.

"Odd was born with a really bad heart condition," Ulrich said sadly. "And if he doesn't get a heart transplant in a couple of months, he could die."

Yumi squeezed Ulrich's hand nervously. "What kind of heart condition?"

"I don't really know," Ulrich said, finally calmed down a bit. "Mr. Delmas said that no one has ever had it before Odd. It makes his heart swell or something. That's why he never did any sports. But it wasn't supposed to get this bad already."

"Is he ok right now?" Aelita asked fearfully.

Ulrich shook his head slightly. "I haven't really heard much, except that he is stabilized for now. I just… I can't believe this is happening to Odd…"

"I can't believe he kept this from us," Jeremie said. "All of those trips to Lyoko and all the running around probably made him sicker. And he knew how dangerous it was."

Minutes later, Jim arrived at the hospital on the principal's orders to check on Odd and Ulrich. He wasn't at all surprised to find the other three teenagers there as well, seeing as collectively, the five were nearly inseparable. "Any news?" he asked in his gruff voice.

"No." Ulrich looked up to see that Jim was holding a small bad that he would bet contained a few of his things in it.

Sure enough, Jim handed him the bag. "I noticed another roommate of yours while I grabbed your stuff," he said slyly. "But we're going to let it slide. Principal Delmas is letting his daughter watch the dog."

Ulrich nodded and remained silent, not at all concerned about Kiwi. Odd's doctor, Dr. Greene, came back again to report on Odd's condition. "Are you all here to see Odd Della Robia?"

"Yes," Jim answered. "I'm the dormitory supervisor at Kadic Academy. Mr. Delmas had to get back to the school, so he sent me to bring a few of Ulrich's things back here."

"Oh yes," Dr. Greene said. "I nearly forgot that Ulrich was going to stay with Odd tonight. Really, visiting hours would be ending very shortly, but I will make an exception for the night."

"How is Odd?" Ulrich asked.

"He is still unconscious, but his vitals are improving. He should be out of here in a few days if he recovers as quickly as I expect."

"But I thought he was really sick," Aelita said. "He'll be able to leave?"

"You're friend is very sick," Dr. Greene explained. "But he'll be ok for a little while as long as he follows the restrictions made on the things he can do. Would you all like to see him for a few minutes?"

Ulrich quickly stood up and said yes determinedly while the others nodded.

"Ok. Everyone follow me, but be quiet. Odd needs to sleep." Dr. Greene led Jim and the four teens to Odd's private hospital room and opened the door for them. Once they were all there though, few were brave enough to enter.

Yumi took Ulrich by the hand and dragged him into the room, followed by the others. At hearing the slow, steady beeping of the heart monitor, Ulrich held his breath in preparation of the sight of his best friend. He stood over the bed and looked down. Odd was horribly pale and his lips were slightly tinted a shade of blue. "You jerk, you knew this would happen," Ulrich whispered to him.

Yumi took her hand from Ulrich's and grabbed Odd's. Jim sighed. "I know you all want to stay here, but Mr. Delmas only approved of Ulrich being out of the dormitory tonight. And Yumi, you'd better head home too. You're parents are probably worried about you."

Everyone but Ulrich sighed. Aelita kissed Odd on the forehead and whispered an inaudible get well to him. Jeremie left, hand-in-hand with her, following Jim. Yumi squeezed Ulrich's shoulder comfortingly. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

Ulrich nodded silently and Yumi ruffled his hair. "I'll be right back. I just have to call my parents."

"Ok," Ulrich replied. Yumi left and he pulled up a chair beside Odd. "Damn it, you idiot, I wont ever forgive you for this." Odd remained still and silent, and Ulrich felt tears in his eyes again. "Please just get better…"

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**So how was it guys? Review if you want more!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all of the reviews so far guys! Keep it up!**

**Read and Review!**

* * *

Yumi smiled slightly as Ulrich sighed in his sleep with his head on her shoulder. In one hand, her fingers intertwined with Ulrich's. He other hand rested on top of Odd's. It was about one in the morning and still she hadn't been able to sleep, not while Odd was in the hospital. Ulrich had become so exhausted from his frustration that he'd been unable to keep his eyes open. Yumi tilted her head against his and closed her eyes sleepily, hoping for all of their problems to disappear. 

A groan from the bed made her eyes snap open quickly. She saw Odd move his head slightly to the side as his eyes cracked open to see an IV in his arm. A squeeze from Yumi's hand alerted him to company on his other side, so he turned his head slowly. "Where…?" His voice was raspy and weak.

"The hospital," Yumi whispered in response. "You had us really worried, especially Ulrich."

Odd looked at Ulrich guiltily. "Sorry…"

Yumi's eyes softened. "Oh, Odd…" She gasped as she felt Ulrich shift.

Ulrich took his hand from Yumi and began to wipe sleep from his eyes. "Hm?" he grunted, half-asleep. He was jolted completely away however, when he saw Odd's eyes open. "Odd!"

Yumi almost expected the boy to punch Odd across the face, but instead Ulrich practically jumped on top of him and hugged him. It wasn't until she and Odd saw Ulrich shaking that they realized he was crying. It made Yumi have to fight back hard against her own tears to keep them from falling.

Odd slowly hugged Ulrich back with one arm. "Please stop Ulrich," he pleaded tiredly. "Don't cry…"

Ulrich pulled away and wiped his eyes after a few minutes. Yumi could tell that he was embarrassed of his display of tears. She looked back at Odd. "How do you feel?" she asked.

"Like my heart swelled up and almost stopped," Odd said. He took their silence as a response. "That is what happened, isn't it?" He looked away from his friends' disapproving stares.

"I can't believe you Odd," Yumi said. "How could you have kept this a secret? How could you have put yourself in so much danger? Jeremie thinks that the Lyoko missions probably made this happen. Did you even notice that they were making you get worse?"

"I wanted to go on the missions," Odd said. "I am not one to sit back and let you all save Aelita alone."

"Was it making you feel sick Odd?" Yumi asked and gained no response. She began to feel less patient. "Damn it, Odd! Did you know? Did you know that Lyoko was making your heart worse?"

Odd bit his lip guiltily. "I…"

"You should have said something!" Ulrich scolded him. "You lied to everyone, even to me! Is a trip to Lyoko worth all of that?"

"I just didn't want to be treated differently," Odd explained desperately. "I wanted to be a normal, healthy kid, just like the rest of you. I wanted to live my life, not wait around for you all to have fun in Lyoko without me-"

"Lyoko isn't supposed to be fun Odd," Yumi said. "Every time we step into those scanners, we take the risk of never coming back out. Every time we stay to control the situation here, we take the risk of dying before the return trip. It's dangerous enough, even for a normal, healthy person!"

"That's what makes it worth it," Odd said. "If I never took any chances, I wouldn't really be living."

"You wouldn't be in this hospital bed either," Ulrich pointed out. "I just don't understand how you could do this to us. You have no idea how horrible it is to find out that your best friend needs to get a heart transplant!"

Odd's eyes widened. "I… I do?" he asked fearfully. "It's that bad?"

Yumi looked at her feet. "You have a few months," she said. "But… yes… They put you on the recipient list…"

"Oh my God," Odd whispered as he closed his eyes in thought. "They said… I wouldn't need one so soon…"

Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other sadly, neither knowing what to say. Ulrich pulled Odd into another tight hug. "I'm sorry Odd," he said gently.

Odd opened his eyes and looked blankly at the wall ahead of him. "I… I really didn't know… it was this bad… Ulrich… I… I' scared…"

"So am I."

Conveniently, the next morning happened to be Sunday, the only day that no one had any classes. (A/N: I am assuming they have classes on Saturdays because of something Ulrich said on one of the episodes) Jeremie, Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich all spent the entire day at the bedside of the unusually quiet blonde. Aelita used up most of her time trying to cheer Odd up by telling jokes that he himself would normally have been telling. Odd tried to be his usual self, but he was tired and a little bit shaken up. Dr, Greene had gone over all of his new restrictions with him before Jeremie and Aelita had come, and he wasn't at all happy with all of these new rules. Odd knew he wasn't going to enjoy sitting around all day, but the others were going to make him follow the doctor's orders, whether he liked it or not.

Aelita was in the middle of another bad joke when Ulrich, who'd been considerably moody, interrupted her. "Sissi was really worried yesterday," he said as if he'd been silently contemplating it in confusion for a while.

"Sissi?" Odd asked. "What was Sissi so worried about?"

"Well, she was he with Mr. Delmas and me in the waiting room," Ulrich said. "She was worried about _you_. I think she was as scared as I was last night."

Aelita nodded in agreement. "I forgot that I saw her when we got back last night."

"You did?" Jeremie asked.

"Yes," Aelita said. "I was going to my room, and when I got there she was knocking on my door. She said that she was there to ask if I knew anything about Odd."

"Wow," Yumi said in shock. "I never would have known, but Sissi does have a heart."

"She asked if she could come see you today," Aelita told Odd.

"What did you tell her?" Odd asked suspiciously.

"I told her that you would be glad to have visitors," Aelita replied innocently.

Odd groaned. "How could you do such a thing to a guy who can't defend himself? I thought we were friends Aelita!"

Yumi and Jeremie giggled a bit while Aelita looked confused. Ulrich sighed. "He's just kidding Aelita." He smile though, glad to hear Odd joking.

"Oh," Aelita responded.

"I am not!" Odd said. "If you guys were in the hospital I would never send Sissi in to finish you off! Actually… now that I know what Aelita is _really_ like, I might consider doing it to her."

"What time is Sissi coming?" Yumi asked warily.

"she said that she and her father are coming at noon," Aelita said as she checked her watch. "So in about ten minutes."

"Great," Odd said sarcastically. "It's been nice knowing you guys."

"Strange," Yumi commented. "At the mention of Sissi, you become the liveliest you've been all day."

Odd rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yea, let's all crack jokes at the kid who's dying."

"That's not funny Odd," Ulrich warned him.

A knock on the door cit the tension in the room and Sissi tentatively walked in with her hands behind her back. "Hi guys," she said.

"Where is Mr. Delmas?" Jeremie asked.

"Daddy is talking to the doctor," Sissi said. She shifter awkwardly on her feet.

"I want to go get lunch," Ulrich said, not really wanting to be around Sissi if she suddenly remembered her crush on him and decided to redirect her attention.

"Me too," Yumi agreed.

Aelita didn't really catch on to their reasoning, but she was fairly hungry. "I'll come too," she said. "I'm starved."

Of course, Jeremie didn't want Aelita to leave without him, so he too stood to leave. He smiled apologetically. "See you in a little bit Odd!"

"Guys!" Odd tried, but they were gone, leaving him alone with Sissi.

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**Sissi's there! Poor Odd. I don't really like Sissi much, but I think in the right situation she could be a much different person. So you'll all have to see where this goes ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, here's a little bit of friendship starting between Sissi and Odd. Enjoy!**

**Read and Review!**

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"How are you… um… feeling?" Sissi asked nervously.

Odd shrugged, deciding to be as civil as possible. "Alright, I guess." He suddenly noticed that she was still holding something behind her back. "What's that behind your back Sissi?"

Sissi blushed as she walked over to him. "Well… I… uh…" Fumbling with her words she handed over a stuffed dog. "It's a get well present…"

Normally Odd might have teased her for her cheesy choice of a gift, but he felt like he should keep being nice to her. "It looks just like Kiwi," he said.

Sissi relaxed visibly as Odd graciously accepted the gift instead of laughing at her. "So that's his name," she said. "I'm watching him for you. I think he really misses you a lot… I guess I… kind of figured that you missed him too…"

Odd nodded in agreement, shocked that she actually thought that deep into buying someone, especially himself, a present. "I do," he said. "Thanks. But isn't your dad mad about Kiwi? This isn't just a stuffed dog to replace the real one he's going to make me send away is it?"

Sissi shook her head in amusement. "I convinced him to let you keep the dog," she said proudly. "Jim was really the only one in favor of getting rid of Kiwi anyway."

Odd grinned. "Well if it was between Jim and me, I would have gotten out of it myself."

Sissi smiled slightly as she said in the chair beside him. Odd could tell she was trying to keep up polite conversation with him, something that normally didn't occur between them. "So you're coming back tomorrow night," she said. "I bet you're excited."

"I would be if I wasn't being forced to stay in bed for a week," Odd said pretty angrily, feeling like he could discuss this more freely with her than his friends, since they weren't exactly sympathetic about his bed rest. "And when I do go back to classes they're going to make me take the elevator! You'd think that they'd forgotten that my legs still worked fine."

"That sucks," Sissi said. "You can always sneak out though."

Odd laughed. "If Ulrich ever lets me out of his sight."

Sissi looked down. "Yea, he was really upset when Dr. Greene said that… well, you know…"

"Yea," Odd said. "Not that I'm trying to be a smartass or anything… but why aren't you trying to hang out with Ulrich and not me? Have you given up on him or something?"

"I haven't given up on him yet," Sissi said. "But I was worried about you… Odd… Are we… friends? I feel like I've been pretty mean to you…"

Odd looked confused, but he saw the sad look on her face. Sure, Sissi and he had always acted as if they hated each other, but there had been some moments, though few, when he hadn't minded her so much. On some rare occasions, she had even been helpful. Odd smiled. "Yea Sissi, we're friends." Sissi grinned and Odd blushed a bit. "You know, we could hang out sometime when I'm back at Kadic. You could help me sneak out."

"We'll see how you're doing first," Sissi laughed.

Mr. Delmas then walked into the room and smiled sadly. "Hello Odd. How are you feeling?"

"Like a million bucks," Odd lied.

"Listen Odd," Mr. Delmas said carefully. "I finally spoke with you parents…"

Odd looked up uncomfortable. He hadn't even thought of them yet. "What did they say?"

Mr. Delmas sighed. "They're both very worried… but… they can't come to see you… You know that you're parents are very busy people… If they could be here, I am sure they would… They promise to come soon."

"Oh…" Odd looked down with disappointment before forcing a smile. "That's ok. I have all the family I need right here at Kadic. They're all just out to lunch!"

Mr. Delmas smiled slightly. "So anyway, arrangements are being made for your return to school. You'll have to take it easy."

"I know. Do I really need to take the elevator though? My legs work fine."

Mr. Delmas gave him a disapproving yet amused look over the rims of his spectacles. "It's a precaution Odd. Do you want to be back here sooner than expected?"

"No, sir," Odd said. "But I don't want to sit around all of the time and relax. I'll get bored."

"It's only for a couple of months or so," Mr. Delmas told him. "Until your surgery you just need to relax, take your medicine, and take care of yourself. After that, things will be back to normal. You'll be able to do even more than before."

"And if I don't get my surgery?" Odd asked skeptically. "Will I have to spend the last months of my life in a bed like this, with an IV in my arm and tests every other hour? Because after all of them today, I have had enough."

"You'll get the transplant Odd," Sissi told him. "And you'll be better than ever."

"Yea…" Odd looked out of the window.

"Let's get going Sissi," Mr. Delmas said after a moment. "I can't leave Jim in charge for too long."

Sissi nodded and stood. "See you tomorrow Odd," she said. "I'll tell Kiwi you said hello."

Odd smiled at her. "Bye." He looked down at the stuffed dog after they left and blushed. "Oh man, the others are really going to make fun of me if they find out that I actually enjoyed Sissi's visit. She really isn't so bad though." Sighing, he put the dog on his bedside table.

Minutes later, his four best friends returned with a nurse carrying a tray in tow. Odd skipped the greeting for his four friends and greeted his food instead. "Lunch!" he cried enthusiastically, wanting to immediately keep their minds off of Sissi. He clapped his hands together and smiled brightly.

The nurse laughed as she set the tray in front of him and watched him dig in. "Are you sure you aren't here for a hole in your stomach?"

"Oh we're sure," Yumi said. "This is just a chronic condition. He's already learned to cope with it."

"Oh and we've had to cope too," Jeremire said. "Always having to defend out own food from Odd."

The nurse just shook her head and giggled as she left the room. Aelita smiled at Odd. "You certainly seem to be feeling better. Is it the food?"

"Or was it Sissi?" Yumi teased.

"Sorry for ditching you," Jeremie apologized. "I hope it wasn't too painful."

Odd set down his fork. "She's not _that_ bad."

"But I thought you hated-"

"We should be nicer to her," Odd said as he glanced at the stuffed dog. "I think she's different then she lets on."

"Um… ok…" Ulrich and the others looked at him as if he'd grown another head.

Odd smiled again. "So where'd you guys go for lunch?"

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming!**

**I realize I'm not making Sissi as stuck up as on the show, but I do have chapters written where she does show a bit of that side of herself in front of her own friends. The reason she's acting so different though, is because i want to portray her differently. I mean, I think anyone would question how mean they are to someone who they find out is possibly dying. And as a result of Sissi questioning herself, I think she would be able to act like a nicer person and form real friendships. Don't worry though, there will be a lit bit of the Sissi we all know in some chapters, but I believe that Sissi is only so snobby because she doesn't know how to react to not getting what she wants. I will never make her appear to be a bitch.****

* * *

**

Odd was changing out of the hospital pajamas and into his own clothes when someone knocked on the door. "Come in," he said as he slipped on his long-sleeved purple shirt.

Ulrich entered as Odd put on his shoes. "Hey," he said. "Mr. Delmas is checking you out right now."

"Good," Odd said cheerfully. "I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tonight!"

Ulrich sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "I hate to ruin you good mood Odd, but I have some bad news."

"What?" Odd asked, unfazed. "Nothing can be worse than a week of bed rest."

"How about two weeks of bed rest?" Ulrich replied.

"Are you kidding me?"Odd huffed.

"Dr. Greene told Mr. Delmas that the echocardio-thing that they did to you today showed that your heart was worse than they thought," Ulrich told him. "And, well… They're kind of making you use a wheelchair for a week…"

"What!" Odd exclaimed as he rounded on his best friend. "I can walk just fine!"

"You know," Ulrich said, "if you'd just been more sensible and sat out on those missions your heart wouldn't be so bad. The doctor just wants you to relax as much as possible before it gets worse than this."

"But I don't need a stupid wheelchair!" Odd whined.

"It's only for the first week," Ulrich said, "just to get around to lunch and stuff."

As if on cue, Mr. Delmas came into the room pushing a wheelchair. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Odd sighed in defeat as he picked up his stuffed dog and sat down. "Please tell me that we'll be back in time for dinner," he said. "Because if I miss mashed potatoes, this will go down as the most upsetting day in history."

Ulrich rolled his eyes as he took the handles of the wheelchair from the principal. "Let's get the human garbage disposal back to school before I have to hear him complaining all night."

Odd grinned mischievously as the three of them left.

* * *

Odd was fairly quiet as Ulrich pushed him into the cafeteria. It was clear that Ulrich was holding a bit of a grudge against him for lying, but Odd understood and said nothing about it. He felt lucky that Ulrich was even talking to him still. "Did I miss much school work today?" Odd asked, trying to make some conversation. 

"Not really," Ulrich said. "I think everyone was still kind of wound up… You know… about you being in the hospital and all… No one could really concentrate on school work… Besides, you're excused from it anyway."

"Yea," Odd replied dejectedly, looking down at his Kiwi doll. Never before had he wanted to actually have to do work. "I know."

"We're here," Ulrich said, coming to a stop inside the cafeteria.

Odd looked up as he heard hundreds of voices yell, "Surprise!" A banner was hung over the windows saying 'Welcome Back Odd!' Odd smiled as the first people to make their way to him were Aelita, Jeremie, and Yumi.

"Hey Odd," they greeted happily.

"This is a different welcoming committee than I'm used to," Odd joked, referring to the monsters in Lyoko.

"Come on," Ulrich said. "Let's sit down."

"Speak for yourself," Odd said sourly. "I'm _already_ sitting."

Throughout dinner, everyone fussed over Odd. Pretty much all of his many ex-girlfriends came over to say hi to him. Between his visitors, Odd smiled smugly. "The girls are really flocking to you tonight Shorty," Yumi teased him.

Odd ignored the 'shorty' comment and continued to smile. "Yea," he said. "Who knew that if I'd only been sick all of my girlfriends would have forgotten to hate me!"

"Yea," Ulrich said dully. "Who knew…"

Odd yawned and Jeremie suddenly noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "You should go to bed," he told him.

Odd quickly scanned the room for the only girl he hadn't seen and sighed. "I guess you're right," he said when he didn't see her.

Ulrich stood and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair. "See you in the morning guys," he said.

"I've got to head home too," Yumi said, standing as well, though somewhat reluctantly. "My mom and dad have been fighting non-stop lately, and I really don't feel like giving them another excuse to fight by missing curfew."

"Goodnight," Aelita said. "We'll see youall tomorrow."

"Night!" Odd said as Ulrich pushed him away.

When Odd was in his room and done getting into his pajamas and bed there was a knock on his door. Ulrich went to open it and Odd heard a happy bark. He quickly went to the door himself to see Sissi holding his dog. "Kiwi!" he cried.

"Get back in bed Odd," Ulrich ordered, earning himself a stuck-out tongue from the short blonde. He rolled his eyes and went back to his own bed.

Odd took Kiwi from Sissi gratefully. "How was he?" he asked.

"Fine," Sissi replied as she pet the dog's head. "He was good company."

Odd laughed as Kiwi licked him all over his face excitedly. "Thank you for watching him. I didn't see you at dinner today."

"Oh, I was playing with Kiwi," Sissi said with a smile. "I tried to put a bow in his hair, but he doesn't really have much."

Odd quirked an eyebrow at her, unable to resist the urge to make some comment at her prissy attempt, but he had no time to say anything before being called back into the room.

"Get in bed Odd," Ulrich said again from inside.

Odd sighed, deciding to give Sissi a break on the whole bow thing. "Well my old lady is calling me," he joked. "Come play with Kiwi sometime. He likes you a lot."

Sissi nodded in consent. "Goodnight," she told him. "See ya Kiwi!"

Odd closed the door and lay down on his bed with Kiwi at his feet. "What was that all about?" Ulrich asked.

"What do you mean?" Odd replied.

"Sissi," Ulrich told him as if it explained everything. "Why are you so nice to her all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing," Odd said quickly.

"Whatever," Ulrich said as he turned off the lamp between their beds. "Go to sleep."

About ten minutes later, Odd was still staring at the ceiling, deep in thought. "Hey Ulrich?" he asked and heard a grunt in reply. "You and your parents don't really get along, right?"

Ulrich was silent for a moment before answering. "Yea, I guess you could say that…"

"But they still love you right?" Odd asked.

Ulrich turned the light back on. "What are you getting at?" he asked. He didn't really like being asked about his parents and was mildly offended that his best friend might imply that they didn't love him.

Odd sat up and looked at Ulrich. "If you were really sick," he said, "they would want to come, right?"

"Of course they would," Ulrich said defensively. "My parents are just a little strict. They don't hate m- Oh…" He finally realized why Odd had asked. "Odd, did Mr. Delmas ever contact your parents?"

Odd laid back down on his side, his back to Ulrich. "Nevermind," he said softly. "Don't worry about it…"

"I know you want to talk about it Odd," Ulrich said.

"They're really busy people," Odd said. "It's okay… I understand that they can't come…"

"I'm sure that they _want_ to see you," Ulrich tried to reassure him.

"Yea… I'm sure they do…" Odd sighed. "I haven't seen them in two years Ulrich…"

"What about vacation?" Ulrich asked in confusion. "You always go away to see them."

"I lied," Odd said bluntly as he turned back over to look at Ulrich. "I have other relatives. I just stay with my aunt during vacation. And that is _awful_. She's worse than my parents, thinking I'm always about to keel over."

"Why do they send you there?" Ulrich asked somewhat angrily.

"I don't know," Odd said in a sad voice. "They kind of ignore me when I'm around anyway… When I was little it was different… but I remember the day I came home from the hospital… after they found out I was sick… My mom cried when she tucked me into bed… After that, they always had work or parties or vacations that I wasn't allowed to go on… It was like I didn't exist… Since I was five I just grew up with a nanny taking care of me… I think my parents thought that if they don't love me, they can't be sad if I die."

"Odd…"

Odd quickly shut off the lamp before Ulrich could witness the tears in his eyes. "Goodnight Ulrich."

Ulrich sighed before lying back down. "Goodnight."

* * *

**Poor Odd… :(**

**Just so you know, that 'echocardio-thing' that Ulrich's referring to is an echocardiogram, which is basically a ultrasound of someone's heart.**

**Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry that I updated slower this time!Please read and review!**

**And please read and review my other Code Lyoko story, _The Way He Would Have Wanted It_. It's a one-shot about the group as adults, mostly centering around Yumi's memory of the final battle with Xana and the sacrifice they all made to save the world once and for all. There's a sad surprise about the final battle, but over all, this story ends on a happy note. YU and JAI'd really appreciate some reviews!**

* * *

Odd was shaken awake by Ulrich the next day around noon. He groaned as he sat up slowly. "Morning," He yawned, stretching his arms. 

"Afternoon actually," Ulrich corrected him. "Get dressed. I have to take you down to the nurse for medicine and then we're going to lunch before my next class."

Odd groaned. "This is so stupid! I can go on my own!"

"You know, it doesn't matter how much you complain," Ulrich said. "You're still stuck with the wheelchair." He frowned and added somewhat grudgingly, "And I'm still stuck pushing it around."

Kiwi barked and jumped at Ulrich's leg, making Odd smirk. "Well at least you get Kiwi duty," he said. "I know how much you just _love_ walking Kiwi. And if I can't walk on my own, I certainly can't take my dog for a walk."

Ulrich rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Come on," he said. "I don't want to miss lunch… And I'm sure you don't either, for that matter."

* * *

Yumi smiled at Jeremie and Aelita as she sat down at their lunch table. "Hey. Where are the guys?" 

"Ulrich is taking Odd to get his medicine," Jeremie said. "They should be here soon."

"It's weird not having Odd in class," Aelita said sadly. "It's too quiet."

"I know what you mean," Yumi said. "Well, I kind of know what you mean. I've never had Odd in a class with me, but he's usually the first in the lunch line. He's here before anyone else!"

Jeremie laughed. "Well here he comes now," he said. "And he doesn't look too happy."

Sure enough, Odd had a very sour expression on his face and his arms were crossed, giving him the appearance of a spoiled little child. Ulrich looked quite exasperated with him as he pushed the wheelchair. "Hello Odd," Aelita said sweetly when Ulrich parked the chair at the table.

Odd just stuck his nose in the air and turned away. "Hmph," he grunted.

"What's your problem?" Yumi asked, not at all liking his rude greeting.

"He's a pain in the ass," Ulrich said, glaring at the back of Odd's head. "That's what."

"What happened?" Aelita asked worriedly.

"I won't even bother telling you," Odd said indignantly. "You'll all just side with him!"

"Of course they will," Ulrich said. "You were being a big baby! It was just a stupid needle. You had one stuck in your arm for two days and nothing bad happened!"

"Well I was asleep when they put it there," Odd replied.

"I'll remember that," Ulrich mumbled dully. "From now on I'll just knock you out. It might help _my_ health to punch you a few times."

"What are you talking about?" Yumi asked.

"Odd attacked me!" Ulrich said.

"He tried to pin me down!" Odd cried in retaliation. "And he let her stab me with that needle!"

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "I'm getting our lunches."

Aelita looked at Odd sympathetically. "I understand why you hate needles, but they are only going to help you."

"I have had enough of needles already," Odd muttered.

Yumi put her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "Just forget that Odd," she said. "Just get through it and eventually this will be all over."

A few minutes later Ulrich was back with the food, but Odd only picked at his plate. "What's wrong?" Ulrich asked him, starting to forget his grudge at being punched in the gut.

"I'm not too hungry," Odd said. He looked up at Ulrich. "Can you just take me back to our room when you're done?"

Ulrich looked at the others worriedly before nodding. He took a last bite out of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich before standing and grabbing the wheelchair. "I'll see you guys in class." He sighed as they waited for the elevator. "Are you really that angry at me?"

Odd shook his head. "I'm not mad…"

"Not hungry either?" Ulrich asked with concern.

"Not really," Odd said. "I'm tired. I can wait until dinner."

"Do you want me to just bring dinner up to you?" Ulrich asked. "I'll eat in the room with you."

"Yea, I guess…"

"Ok," Ulrich told him. "Let's get you back in bed then. Are you sure you don't want anything to eat now though?"

"Positive," Odd replied.

* * *

Ulrich met up with Jeremie and Aelita again during their next period, which happened to be gym class. While they played kickball, they all talked about Odd. "I'm worried about him skipping lunch," Aelita said. "Especially after he slept through breakfast." 

"It's the medicine," Jeremie said. "The doctor said it would probably make him lose his appetite."

"Poor Odd," Aelita said. "He hates that medicine."

"Yea," Jeremie replied. "But without it he'd be in a lot more pain right now."

Ulrich looked at him curiously. "Pain? I thought the medicine was just keeping his heart from swelling."

"Well, it does a little of that," Jeremie explained. "But it's directed more as a painkiller than anything. I mean, if he's on bed rest and in a wheelchair, the medicine isn't doing much prevention on its own. It's just subduing the pain for him."

"So it hurts?" Aelita asked sadly.

Jeremie nodded. "I'm surprised that no one else has noticed the look on Odd's face all the time," he said. "I can only imagine that it hurts a great deal, even with the medicine at work."

"Now I feel bad for getting pissed off," Ulrich said guiltily.

Aelita touched his arm reassuringly. "It's understandable. You're just worried about him."

"Yea," Ulrich said with a sigh.

"We should do something really nice for him when he's out of bed," Aelita said rather excitedly. "Is there anywhere we can take him when he's well enough?"

"I don't really know," Jeremie said. "We have 2 weeks to think of something though."

"I don't know about a place," Ulrich said, "but I've got an idea of something we can bring here."

"What is it?" Aelita asked curiously.

Ulrich smirked. "Not what… who."

* * *

That night Ulrich and Odd ate dinner alone, and Odd was too quiet at first for Ulrich's liking. The brunette was becoming worried about his friend's state of mind. It was unusual for Odd to ever be calm and quiet. Normally he would never shut up, even in lousy situations. "Are you feeling any better?" Ulrich asked as Odd picked at his plate of meat loaf. "Jeremie said that you medicine is making you lose your appetite, but you really should try to eat something."

"I know," Odd said, with Kiwi trying to climb onto his lap to get his food. "I just slept so much today that I'm not hungry. That's all."

Ulrich watched as Odd let Kiwi have the meat loaf. "You feel okay though?" he asked, sounding like a worried mother.

Odd looked at him with a small smile. "You worry too much. And, yea, I feel alright… better than this earlier. You know, I kept getting woken up by girls text-messaging me."

Ulrich exaggerated a sigh. "Is that so?" he asked. "Was Sissi one of them?"

"Actually," Odd said slowly, sounding contemplative of it. "No." He didn't tell Ulrich that _he'd_ been the one to text _her_.

Ulrich laughed. "Oh well."

Just then, Odd's cell phone vibrated loudly when he received another message. He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed it. A smile covered his face as he read it. "Who is it?" Ulrich asked.

Odd pocketed the phone while he paused to think. "Just another girl who can't resist the temptation of the sexiest guy alive," he said mischievously.

"That's nice," Ulrich said. "But why is she texting a skinny kid like you?" He laughed as a pillow hit him square in the face.

"I am svelte," Odd huffed indignantly while crossing his arms. "You know, as lazy as they are making me be, I may not have to worry about my svelte body much longer."

"You mean we'll have to call you Fatty instead of Scrawny?" Ulrich teased as he tossed back the pillow.

"Ha… ha…" Odd said sarcastically. "Funny… No, really… I am _dying_ of excitement."

Ulrich laughed, happy that they were having a light-hearted conversation again. "Jeremie and Aelita wanted to stop by to check on you."

"Actually, a couple of girls skipped the messages and just stopped by earlier," Odd said cheerfully.

"I thought you said you slept that whole time," Ulrich said suspiciously.

Odd shrugged. "Off and on," he said. "I could really get used to the attention."

"I think I know whose attention you like the most," Ulrich said. "I never would have suspected it though.

Odd smiled as he though about his text message. "Is that so?" he asked with fake innocence.

Ulrich nodded. "After all of those pranks you liked to play on her, what made you change your mind Casanova?"

"Sissi isn't that bad. I think it's all just a front for everyone else. It's like how you act like the strong silent type, even though your friends all know that you're really just a love sick boy who gets weak in the knees for Yumi."

Ulrich blushed, a deep shade of red, as he put his plate on his desk. Odd laughed at his embarrassment. "You know, Ulrich, you should really just go for it already. Yumi's is a great girl. If you don't sweep her off her feet already, someone else will. And with the luck I'm having with the girls lately, it could very well be me to steal her out from under your nose." He made a face as if realizing something. "Actually, I think I really might like to give Yumi a try before I die."

"ODD!" Ulrich snapped angrily. He glared at the blonde like a parents whose child just uttered some obscene profanity.

Odd sighed. "I'm not really going to go for Yumi."

Ulrich looked down at his feet. "You won't die either," he mumbled.

Odd's face paled and he bit his lip. "Ulrich I was only joking…"

Ulrich stood as someone knocked on the door. When he opened it, Jeremie and Aelita entered. "Hey guys," Odd greeted.

"Hi," Jeremie said.

Aelita sat down beside Odd on his bed. "We missed you today," she said. "Class wasn't the same without you!"

Odd grinned. "You should skip and come spend the day with me!"

"I'd watch out if I were you Jeremie," Ulrich said. "Odd thinks he's a girl magnet, he might steal your girlfriend."

Odd smiled sheepishly. "Jeremie has nothing to worry about. I can't go for 'my cousin,' can I?"

"I stand corrected," Ulrich joked. "Did Yumi stay for dinner?"

"She was going to," Jeremie said. "But William was trying to bug her, probably to ask her out. She said she had to go home and left."

Ulrich smiled at this small triumph over William, even though Odd was giving him an I-told-you-so look.

"William really likes her a lot," Aelita said. "But I don't think she likes him nearly as much as she likes you."

Ulrich blushed again and Odd laughed. "Just go for it!" he chided.

The brunette glared at his roommate. "Guys you should get going. It's time for the pain in the ass to go to bed."

"It's 8 'o clock!" Odd cried as Ulrich ushered the others out, ignoring him. "Oh I am so asking for a new roommate next year!"

Ulrich shook his head. "I'd like to see you try. Get ready for bed."

* * *

**So, a bit of ups and downs for Odd in this chapter, as there will be in future chapters... Sorry that Sissi wasn't in this chapter, butI think Odd/Sissi fans will really enjoy the next couple of chapters! And so will Ulrich/Yumi fans! Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for the reviews guys! Just so you know, I posted 2 Code Lyokoone-shots in the past week, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd read them and review! In addition to updating this story, I am in the process of planning a sequel to _The Way He Would Have Wanted It_, a possible one-shot sequel to _One Big Mistake_, and maybe one other story called _Dyslexia_. The only one of these stories that I definitely going to post eventually is the sequel of _The Way He Would Have Wanted It. _The others I'm still deciding on.**

**Well anyway, here's a sort of Yumi/Ulrich centered chapter! Enjoy! And don't forget to review!**

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Odd's phone vibrated at midnight and he quickly sat up, remembering that he'd set its alarm. He glanced over and saw that Ulrich was still asleep thanks to his earplugs. Odd sighed with relief and stood up, wearing the long pajama pants that he'd put on earlier. He silently went over to the closet and grabbed a sweatshirt from it. After putting it on he glanced back at Ulrich to be sure that he hadn't woken up yet. With a sly grin like the Cheshire cat's he picked up Kiwi, slipped his feet into a pair of sneakers and left the bedroom.

Walking slowly down the hallway, he checked every direction for people. Realizing that the coast was clear, he went more quickly to the place where he was meeting his friend. He smiled brightly and waved once he was outside and in view of the soda machines. "Hi Sissi," he greeted.

Sissi smiled unsurely. "Are you sure it's ok for you to be out here?" she asked worriedly. "You aren't really supposed to be walking around."

"You're the one who set up the time and place for this rendezvous," Odd said mischievously.

Sissi narrowed her eyes playfully. "Because you kept texting me all afternoon to meet you somewhere!" she said, accusingly pointing a finger at him. Odd smirked with satisfaction and she sighed. "But is it ok?" she asked as she pet Kiwi.

"Don't worry," Odd said. "I feel fine. I needed to get out on my own."

"I don't get it," Sissi said. "Why did you want to meet with _me_?"

Odd set Kiwi down and stuck his hands in his sweatshirt pouch. "I don't know," he said. "You know, you were pretty much the only girl who didn't call me or text me to see if I was ok. I mean, _I_ had to call _you_."

Sissi gave him a strange look, almost insulted by his comment. "What? You wanted the attention from me too?"

Odd shook his head and looked at his feet as he shifted his weighted from one to the other. "Just the opposite," he said. "I just wanted someone to be normal."

"I guess you haven't noticed," Sissi said, "but for us this is far from normal. We're normally not very nice to each other."

"Are you trying to say that you're only being nice because I'm sick?" Odd joked.

Sissi bit her lip. "I guess… yes and no…"

Odd looked at her, slightly hurt that she was admitting this to him. At the same time he felt a little thankful for her honesty. "Oh…"

"Odd," Sissi said guiltily. "I didn't… I don't mean-"

"Hey! What are you kids doing out here?"

They both turned to see Jim approaching them with a stern look on his face. "Great," Sissi muttered. "Daddy is going to be so mad…"

"What are you doing?" Jim asked again. He suddenly realized who the two kids were. "Odd! You should be in bed!"

Odd looked at Sissi in exasperation. "And you can bet that Ulrich is going to be pissed off at both of us!" he whispered.

"Come on," Jim said. "Grab your dog and come up to your room with me. Sissi go back to your room too. Your father will deal with you in the morning."

* * *

Ulrich sat down grumpily at the lunch table beside Jeremie. All three of his friends watched him cautiously, knowing that he was still furious about what had happened the night before. "Ulrich, where is Odd?" Yumi asked tentatively. 

"After the stunt he pulled last night, he isn't leaving the room," Ulrich said firmly. "I'll take his lunch up to him. Nurse Dorothy already went to give him his medicine."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Aelita asked him.

"No," Ulrich said shortly and continued eating his lunch with a serious face.

"Come on Ulrich," Yumi said. "Give him a break. You would have snuck out too if you were in his shoes."

"No I wouldn't!" Ulrich retorted. "I would have been a little more concerned about my health if I was in his shoes."

"He's really having a hard time with all of this," Aelita said.

"Well, I'm not bringing him to dinner," Ulrich said stubbornly.

Yumi sighed. "Fine. I'll get him and bring him."

"Good," Ulrich snapped. "Then I can go eat in my room."

"You are completely overreacting," Yumi told him. "Right guys?"

"I'm actually on Ulrich's side for this one," Jeremie said. "Odd was very irresponsible and he does need rest."

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Fin. Ulrich you can eat dinner in your room and Odd can eat with us."

"Fine!" Ulrich replied grouchily, banging his fist on the table and glaring at her. "I will!"

"Great!" Yumi half-shouted in an angry. "I'd much rather eat with him than you when you are in such a bad mood anyway!"

Ulrich stood to throw out his trash, refusing to look at Yumi. "I'm going to go get Odd's lunch," he told Jeremie and Aelita. "See you two in class."

Yumi watched incredulously as Ulrich left. "What was that all about?" she thought aloud.

"He's in a very bad mood," Jeremie stated obviously.

"Yea," Yumi said scarcastically. "I got that. He didn't have to pick a fight with me!"

Aelita looked at her sympathetically "Don't take it personally. You know how defensive he is. I think he's just trying to protect Odd."

"By keeping him cooped up in their dorm room?" Yumi questioned. "Odd can't deal with that. He'll go nuts."

"But Ulrich is kind of right," Jeremie told her. "Odd needs to start listening to what the doctor told him. If he doesn't his heart could fail before they find an organ donor. He needs to buy himself as much time as possible."

The bell rang, telling them that lunch was over. The three of them awkwardly stood to throw their trash out together. "I'll see you guys at dinner," Yumi muttered before quickly leaving.

* * *

Odd sighed as he threw Kiwi's ball for the umpteenth time in what seemed like a never-ending game of fetch. It was almost time for dinner, yet the lunch that Ulrich had taken to him hours earlier still remained untouched. Kiwi yipped happily as he jumped onto Odd's bed and dropped the ball for him to throw yet again. He nudged Odd's leg with his nose and wagged his tail, enjoying his extra alone time with his loving owner. Odd picked up the ball and smiled weakly at the dog. "At least one of us is enjoying my jail time…" He looked at the ball in his hand and shook his head. "No offense Kiwi, but 3 hourse of fetch really sucks." 

Kiwi barked and Odd threw the ball just as there was a knock at his door. "Come in," he called.

The door opened and Yumi entered with a bright smile on her face. "What are you still doing in your pajamas?" she asked.

"No sense getting dressed if I'm not getting up," Odd said as he and Kiwi continued their game of fetch.

"I guess Ulrich didn't tell you that I was going to bring you to the cafeteria for dinner," Yumi said.

Odd's face suddenly brightened considerably. "So I am actually allowed to leave the room?" he asked excitedly as he got out of bed.

"Only if you put on some clothes," Yumi teased.

Odd began to push her out of the door hurriedly. "I will be out in one minute," he said closing the door behind her.

Yumi leaned against the wall, and sure enough, one minute later the door opened again and Odd was getting in his wheelchair. Yumi smiled as she grabbed the handles and pushed him. "Hungry much?"

"Bored," Odd replied. "_Extremely_ bored."

As they headed away from the dorm they passed Ulrich, who was heading to it. Yumi and Ulrich met eyes but said nothing and continued in their own direction. Odd looked up at Yumi in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

Yumi sighed. "Ulrich and I fought at lunch," she explained. "He isn't really in a reasonable mood after you snuck out last night."

Odd looked at his lap guiltily. He had known about Ulrich's bad mood, but he felt bad that he'd caused Ulrich to fight with Yumi. "What did you fight about?" he inquired.

"Ulrich seems to think that keeping you in your room is good punishment for what you did," Yumi said. "And while I do agree that it was a pretty rotten thing to do when you know he's already worried about you, I don't think he should be so angry at you. He blew up at me when I offered to bring you to dinner myself."

"I'm sorry," Odd told her as they crossed through the courtyard to get to the cafeteria. "I don't want you to fight about me."

"Don't be sorry," Yumi said. "You know… I'm not so hungry. I think I'll eat at home later."

"I'm not hungry either," Odd said. "I still have my hoagie from lunch in my room. I can eat that later. How about we just hang out here?"

Yumi nodded her head in agreement and sat on the bench. "I feel bad for fighting with him," she said. "He's been so upset about everything."

"Yea…"

"I just get so frustrated when he can't open up about stuff," Yumi continued. "He just lets it all build up until he gets angry."

"You need to open up too," Odd said rather wisely. "Why won't either of you just admit your feelings to each other? It's been almost two years now since we all knew you were into each other. It didn't even take Jeremie and Aelita two months!"

Yumi blushed. He was right. Jeremia and Aelita had known what they wanted and they'd wasted no time in getting it. Yumi and Ulrich, on the other hand, were still dancing around the idea of a relationship. "They're really happy too," Yumi said admitingly. "I don't know what Ulrich and I can't be like that."

"You can," Odd told her. "One of you just needs to get of your high horse and do something about it. Go make up with him and tell him how you feel."

"YUMI!"

Both Odd and Yumi turned to see who'd called her name and found William headed their way. "Hey guys."

"Hi William," Yumi said politely. "What's up?"

"Nothing really," William replied. "I kind of wanted to talk to you about something. Are you busy tomorrow ni-"

"Yumi, I'm not feeling too great," Odd interrupted, dramatically pretending to be short of breath.

William raised an eyebrow at him almost skeptically, as if seeing through the act. "Are you ok man?" he asked, pretending to worry.

"I'll be fine," Odd said, forcing an appreciative smile. "Yumi do you mind taking me to my room?"

"Sure," Yumi told him. "I'm sorry William. Maybe we can just talk some other time?" She stood and grabbed the wheelchair.

"It's ok," William said dejectedly. "I guess I'll see you later. Bye guys."

Yumi waited until she and Odd were out of earshot before she spoke again. "Odd that was rude!" The tone in her voice was one of amusement. She laughed softly as Odd shrugged.

"He's not right for you," the blonde told her. "Now, we've got a grumpy, brooding best friend upstairs who really needs to make up with you. And though he may be a year younger, a bit shorter, and at times a pain in the ass, I'd be willing to bet that he's a perfect fit."


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for your reviews guys! Here's the next chapter**

* * *

Yumi and Odd entered his room to see Ulrich lying on his stomach, grouchily playing fetched with Kiwi. _'It's like the two of them are brothers,' _Yumi mused, remembering that she'd found Odd playing fetch with the little dog not long before. _'They sulk the same way.'_

Ulrich looked blankly at the two of them as they came in. "I didn't realize that Odd had finally learned to actually inhale his food already," he said rather sarcastically, though his eyes held a look of worry. "Why are you back already?"

"We decided to skip dinner for now," Yumi said, closing the door while Odd jumped onto his bed.

"Odd you didn't even touch your lunch!" Ulrich exclaimed, sounding more upset than angry as he held up the unwrapped hoagie as proof.

"Toss it here," Odd told him. "I'll eat it now." He caught the incoming sandwich and began to open it with Ulrich watching, scrutinizing.

Yumi cleared her throat to bring Ulrich's attention to herself. He looked up at her and she smiled. "So are you still mad?" she asked.

Ulrich kept a straight face, but Yumi's smile really made him want to return it. "I don't know," he said, trying his best to hold onto his grudge as he felt it slip. After a moment he looked down and sighed. "I guess not…"

Yumi's smile widened and she sat down beside him on the bed. "I'm sorry," he apologized as she grabbed his hand. He blushed lightly and looked at her again. "I'm having a bad day and I was being a jerk."

"Yea," Yumi agreed jokingly. "But it's ok. I know that you are stressed out. Just don't let it happen again.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment and Yumi saw exactly what she was looking for. Ulrick felt the searching gaze and looked away quickly. "Yumi, I…"

Yumi put her hand on his cheek and made him look back at her. "You know, William just tried to ask me out on a date," she told him.

Ulrich's heart sank. "Oh…" He really wished he could look away. "Where are you two going then?"

"Nowhere," Yumi said. "Odd interrupted him."

'_Thank God,_' Ulrich thought. "Did you want to go?" he asked, trying not to sound as jealous as he was feeling.

Yumi smiled. "No," she said, shaking her head slightly. "Honestly, I really like someone else, and a good friend told me that I should stop stalling and act on it. I know the friend isn't too reliable of a source for relationship advice, but that still sounds like good advice to me. What do you think?"

Ulrich gulped and nodded. "Yea," he whispered nervously. "Maybe… I should listen to it too…" Without a moment of indecision, he planted his lips on Yumi's and she threw her arms around his neck, deepening their kiss.

When they pulled away, Yumi smiled and rested her forehead on his. "So… all-in-all… was today really such a bad day?" she teased the boy about his previous grumpy mood.

Ulrich shook his head. "Good day," he said. "_Really_ good day." They kissed again. However, this time they were interrupted.

"Who's a bad advice source now?" Odd joked. Then he began to sing obnoxiously. "Ulrich and Yumi, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

The couple looked at him with exasperation. "Do you want to finish this… uh… _talk_ somewhere else?" Ulrich asked. "Somewhere far away from my immature roommate?"

"First, comes love. Next, comes marriage. Then, comes Odd's nephew in the baby carriage!"

Yumi nodded and stood. "See you later," she said to the blonde. Before leaving, she and Ulrich lingered in the open doorway. "You'll be alright if we leave you here?"

Odd noticed someone standing behind them and nodded. "I will be just fine," he said surely.

Yumi looked behind her and smirked, grabbing Ulrich's hand and dragging him away. "Come on, Ulrich _dear_," she said happily.

Odd's visitor stayed in the doorway for a moment nervously. Odd tried to smile at her, but he was still a little upset about what she'd said the night before. Kiwi, however, had no hesitation in greeting her. He ran to her, wagging his tail joyously. She picked him up and came in, shutting the door behind herself. "Hi Odd," she said as she sat down beside him.

"Hey," he replied. "How's it going? I hope that your dad went easy on you after last night."

Sissi smiled and shook her head. "No trouble at all," she said. "Only, it's because Daddy thinks we like each other or something, so he felt bad punishing me."

Odd laughed. "Lucky you. Ulrich wasn't so easy on me. He's pretty pissed off about it."

"Odd, I want to talk to you about last night…" Sissi looked worried and sorry.

"Don't worry," Odd told her. "I understand."

"No Odd," Sissi said. "I didn't mean it the way that it came out. What I meant was, yes, I started being nice to you because you're sick… But it wasn't because I felt sorry for you! I just knew that I'd regret not getting to know you better. And now that I have talked to you a couple of times, I'm being nice because I enjoy your company, and… well…"

"Yea?" Odd asked curiously.

Sissi looked unsure and spoke slowly. "I feel different," she told him. "Around you I just feel… honest…"

Odd smiled. "Good. I like to have honest friends."

"Like the rest of your gang, huh?" Sissi asked. "You have really good friends Odd. They're not at all like Nicholas and Herve." She shook her had slightly at the though of her 'friends.' "Those two just follow me around all of the time. My friends hardly even know me."

"Neither do I," Odd said truthfully. "I used to only think that you were a big snob. And I'm sure you always thought that I was an idiot."

"I never thought that," Sissi replied. "You just got under my skin. You and your friend are always happy and exciting, and none of you wanted anything to do with me."

Odd looked at her guiltily, wondering if maybe they'd made Sissi act like she had around them. "Well, now you are one of my friends," he said with a smile. He then leaned back in his bed sleepily.

"You know Odd, you really shouldn't have been out so late last night," Sissi joked. "I can tell that you are tired."

"Only a little bit," Odd said as he rested his eyes for a moment. "It's been a long day."

Sissi stood and set Kiwi back down on Odd's lap. "Get some rest. I have to go meet up with Nicholas and Herve before they think I've abandoned them, though that doesn't sound so bad…"

Odd opened his eyes and smiled. "Don't be a stranger," he said. "See you later."

"Bye Odd."

* * *

The next couple of days went by rather slowly for Odd, unless Sissi was around to keep him company. She began to eat with Odd during meals, much to Herve's disappointment, and she spent a lot of her spare time in Odd's room. She and Odd would talk about movies and music, and Odd was shocked not only that she knew so much but also that they had such similar tastes. At night, he would tell Ulrich all about the new things he'd learned about Sissi, and Ulrich would pretend to be interested.

Despite Odd's excitement, Ulrich could still tell that he was becoming weaker instead of improving. Dark circles had shown up around Odd's eyes and he was coughing a lot. His eating habits were very unlike himself, and he willingly spent all day resting in bed. The nurse started to make daily trips to his room so that he wouldn't have to tire himself out by going to the infirmary. She actually called Ulrich to her office on Friday to discuss Odd's eating habits, telling him that he needed to get Odd to eat more. With all of these health problems that Odd was having, Ulrich felt obligated to at least listen patiently as he discussed Sissi.

On Saturday afternoon, the entire gang even spent time in the dorm with Sissi. It wasn't as awkward as they had expected, but Yumi did catch Sissi stealing an occasional look in Ulrich's direction. She had to admit, though, that those looks held barely any of the longing that they once had, and she wondered if that was a result of Sissi's new friendship with Odd. The pair had a weird friendship, making some smart comments at each other's expense, still finding themselves strangely happy in the other's presence.

At around 8, Sissi decided that it was time to leave. She gave Kiwi a quick pat on the head and hugged Odd. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she walked out of the door.

"Bye," Odd replied sleepily. It took him a moment to realize that all eyes were on him. "What?"

"All week long you've been telling me what a good _friend_ Sissi has become," Ulrich said, smirking.

Odd sighed. "Do you still think she's a big snob?" he asked. "I think she got along fine with all of you."

"She did," Aelita agreed.

"It was actually a nice change," Jeremie added.

"Then what's the problem?" Odd asked obliviously.

"It seems like she makes you pretty happy," Yumi told him.

Odd raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Still not seeing the problem."

"There's no problem," Yumi said with a sly grin. "It's just that we didn't realize…"

"Realize what?" the sick blonde asked suspiciously.

"That you like her," Ulrich said matter-of-factly.

Odd gaped at his four friends stupidly. "That's ridiculous! She's just a friend. Its nice having a girl to talk to who isn't constantly talking about… you know…"

"Yea," Ulrich said. "And then when you are done talking to her, to tell me all about talking to her!"

"I think you like her," Jeremie settled.

Ulrich and Yumi grinned at each other before singing a very familiar song. "Odd and Sissi, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-"

"Finish that song and I will purposely have a heart attack in spite of you!" Odd shouted jokingly before coughing a bit.

Yumi shook her head and giggled. "I have to go home. I'll see you guys later."

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Ulrich asked.

Yumi kissed him on the cheek and stood. "Stay here and keep Romeo out of trouble. I'll be fine."

Jeremie and Aelita stood. "We have to go too," Aelita stood. "It's getting pretty late."

"Bye guys," Ulrich said with a smile to his girlfriend.

* * *

**Please Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**You guys asked for fluff, so here's a chapter dedicated mainly to Yumi and Ulrich! Read and review!**

* * *

Yumi arrived home to yelling. She had no idea what her parents were fighting about, but she highly suspected that neither did they. Glad that she'd eaten dinner already, she went straight to her bedroom. She could still hear the yelling, just like every other night. Any other night, she would have been unfazed by the yelling, but this night Hiroki ran into her room. Yumi was a strong girl, but seeing her usually obnoxious and cheerful little brother in tears sent her over the top. With all of the Odd trouble she and her friends were enduring, she just couldn't deal with her parents' problems.

Yumi held her little brother on her lap as he cried. He'd obviously had enough already as well. "Hiroki?" she asked as she wiped his cheeks with her sleeve. "Do you want to stay at Dennis's house tonight?"

Hiroki nodded silently and Yumi ruffled his hair. "Go get your things together, and don't forget your toothbrush this time. I'll call his mom and ask if it's alright."

"Ok," Hiroki mumbled as he quickly did as he was told.

Yumi sighed as she looked for her neighbors' phone number on her cell phone. Finding it, she pressed 'Send' and waited for someone to answer. "Hello, Mrs. Andrews? It's Yumi. I was wondering if you would mind it if Hiroki spent the night at you house… My parents are kind of fighting again… Yes… Oh no, that's alright. I am already going to stay with a friend of mine tonight… Thank you very much. I'll bring him right over… Goodbye."

She hurriedly threw some of her own overnight things into a bag and threw it over her shoulder, finishing at about the same time as her brother. They walked downstairs and into the battleground together, unnoticed by either parent. Yumi cleared her throat loudly to grab their attention and they froze. Mrs. Ishiyama straightened her body out, trying to look quiet and proper again, but the illusion of their darling mother had already been shattered in the past weeks. Mr. Ishiyama made no attempt to straighten up, holding his ground as the furious husband, not the loving father. "What's wrong?" Mrs. Ishiyama asked sweetly.

Yumi grimaced. "I'm going to take Hiroki to the Andrews's house for the night," she announced. "I'll be staying in Aelita's dorm."

This did not make her father happy at all. "I did nto give you my permission," he said.

"Well I don't want your permission," Yumi replied. "Hiroki and I need a peaceful night of sleep without your shouting. And since you won't stop willingly, we need to spend the night out of this house."

Yumi's mother looked guilty, but her father looked unconvinced by her reasoning. "You will not leave this house without my permission!" he snapped.

"Don't even start!" Yumi cried, shocking even herself with her own bravery. "Hiroki is an 8-year-old boy! He doesn't need to hear you two argue all of the time! And I have a very sick friend to worry about, so I'd rather be there for him before I have to deal with your self-created problems! Recently, I've been feeling like I'm the adult and you're the kids! I can't deal with it! You two need to fix things, preferably soon."

Both of her parents were shocked beyond words at her outburst. Yumi turned to her brother and grabbed his hand. "Come on Hiroki," she said as she led him out of the door.

* * *

Ulrich was lying awake in bed while his roommate pretended to sleep, just like every other night recently. Ulrich had found his mind wandering every night. He was a very confused young man. So many things were happening in his life that he didn't know what to feel. He thought about Yumi and how happy she made him at a time when he needed someone to be there for him. He felt bad for being happy when he thought he should be sad, but he also knew that Odd wanted him to be happy. When Ulrich wasn't thinking of Yumi, he thought about how much fun he always had with Odd and about how scared he was for his friend's life. He didn't know what he would do if Odd wasn't able to get the heart transplant.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. He turned on the light looked over to see his friend pretending to wake up. "That had better not be your girlfriend," he said as he went to the door, causing Odd to make a sour face. "She should know better than to come past nine."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Odd said.

Ulrich opened the door to find Yumi staring at the ground nervously. "Y-Yumi!" Ulrich gasped. He noticed the bag slung over her shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

Yumi looked up at him. "My parents were fighting," she said. "And I just couldn't take it tonight. I told them that I was going to stay with Aelita."

"Come in," Ulrich told her as he stepped aside and opened the door wider.

Yumi entered and sat down on Ulrich's bed. "I hope I didn't wake you guys up," she said.

"Nope," Odd said. He smiled softly. "You're always welcome here Yumi. You can even stay here tonight if you want!"

Yumi raised an eyebrow at him while Ulrich sat down beside her. "I agree with Odd," Ulrich said.

Yumi leaned into Ulrich as he put his arm around her comfortingly. "Thank you…"

"So what happened?" Odd asked.

Yumi remained silent and Ulrich shot a warning look at Odd. "You don't have to talk about it Yumi," he said.

"It's ok," Yumi told him. "It was just a crappy night. When I got home, my parents were yelling at each other and Hiroki was crying. I'm just sick of their fighting. They act like little kids. They don't even know what they are fighting about anymore!"

Ulrich kissed Yumi's cheek lovingly. "It will all be ok," he assured her. "Do you want to go to sleep now?"

Yumi nodded and pulled her pajamas out of her bag. She suddenly blushed as she realized that she'd get caught if she went to the bathroom to change now. Ulrich seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Uhh… Odd and I won't look…"

Odd laughed a bit and the couple glared at him. "Ok… I promise not to look," he said as he rolled over with his back facing them.

Yumi stood uncomfortably and went over to the corner of the room with her back to the boys. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that they were both looking the other way. Satisfied that they were, she quickly changed into a tank top and pajama pants. When she was done she walked back over to the bed and put her clothes in her bag. "Thanks for letting me stay with you," she said gratefully.

Ulrich smiled. "No problem," he told her. He went over to his closet and pulled down some blankets from a shelf on the top.

When Ulrich began to set the blankets up on the floor Yumi gave him a weird look. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm going to sleep on the floor," Ulrich told her.

"You don't have to," Yumi said. "We're small enough that we can both fit on your bed."

Ulrich blushed crimson. "Umm… Are you ok with that?"

Yumi smiled at him and nodded her head, happy that her boyfriend was such a gentleman. "Come on," she said as she waited for him to lay down first.

"Ok…" The brunette boy lay down on his side, leaving as much room as possible for Yumi while she turned off the lamp beside the bed. He was taken by surprise when Yumi settled down so close to him.

Yumi rested her head on his arm and looked into his eyes through the darkness. "Are you ok with this?" she asked him quietly.

"Yea…"

The two of them heard snickering in the background and rolled their eyes. "Goodnight Odd," they both said in unison.

"Night!" Odd said happily.

Yumi closed her eyes to sleep, but Ulrich just stared at her face in adoration. He could hardly believe that the girl of his dreams was sleeping beside him in his bed. "You're so beautiful," he thought aloud, speaking in a soft whisper.

Yumi's eyes opened and she looked at him longingly. She kissed him more passion than she'd ever even thought she'd had, and she didn't want it to end. However, Ulrich pulled away after a bit and she rested her head on his chest. "I love you Yumi," he whispered nervously.

Yumi smiled. It was the first time either of them had said it, and it was the most gratifying thing she'd ever heard. "I love you, too," she whispered.

They both relaxed into each other's embrace more and closed their eyes, ready to sleep peacefully, but of course Odd had to make some sort of commentary to ruin the moment. "Ah, what about me!" he exclaimed jokingly.

"You're like a little kid," Yumi replied sleepily, keeping her eyes shut.

"But I'm feeling left out!" Odd pouted. "You hear that Kiwi? No one loves me!"

"We love you Odd," both Ulrich and Yumi teased.

Odd laughed with satisfaction. "Love you too!"

"Go to sleep Odd," Ulrich said with a yawn. "Now."

* * *

**That's it for now! Please review! Next chapter will get back to Odd stuff. And the real OddSissi stuff is coming up! And there's going to be some Xana action soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry that the update took so long guys! I've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to write! I really don't think this chapter is my best, but it's kind of essential to the plot for this chapter to happen. Please read and review!**

* * *

Yumi woke again a few hours later to find herself still in the dark dorm room, with Ulrich's arm draped over her waist as she rested her head on his chest, having fallen asleep to the rhythmic sound of his breathing. However, a completely different sound in the room had woken her, and she was shocked to find that her boyfriend had slept through it. On the opposite side of the room, Odd was coughing violently. Yumi shook Ulrich awake quickly as she sat up. "Wake up," she said.

Ulrich opened his eyes groggily and mumbled incoherently while Yumi got up and went to Odd's bedside. She put a hand on the small blonde's shoulder. "Odd are you ok?"

The light turned on as Ulrich finally became alert and got up. "What's going on?" Ulrich asked as he stood beside his kneeling girlfriend and looked at Odd worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Don't worry… about it…" Odd said in a raspy voice between coughs. "It… happens every night…"

"I've never heard you," Ulrich said suspiciously.

Odd smirked tiredly as he sat up and the coughing fit subsided. "As sound as you sleep lately… I wouldn't expect… you to hear…" Catching Yumi's worried gaze, he tried to reassure her. "It's alright, really."

Yumi put her hand on his forehead in a motherly way and frowned. "It's not alright! Odd, you're burning up!"

"Maybe I should get the nurse," Ulrich suggested nervously.

Yumi nodded. "I can't be caught in here though," she said as she grabbed bag off of the floor. "Stay here with Odd a minute while I go take my stuff to Aelita's room. I'll bring Aelita and Jeremie here, and we'll just pretend you called us up."

"Stop guys," Odd said. "I'm fine. I just need to sleep."

Yumi sighed and shook her head. She threw her bag over her shoulder and picked up Ulrich's 2 pillows, carrying them back to Odd. "Here," she said as she put them behind him. "Just keep yourself propped up. It might help with the coughing. I'll be right back."

She opened the door a crack and peeked out into the hall. Confident that the coast was clear, she made her way down to Aelita's single bedroom and knocked. "Aelita!" she hissed quietly through the door. When there was no answer, she grabbed the doorknob and found the door unlocked. She went in and quietly closed in behind her. Tossing her bag to the side, she want to Aelita's bed and roused the pink-haired girl.

Aelita rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Yumi?"

"Get up!" Yumi told her. "Odd's sick and we need to get to his room!"

Aelita quickly got out of bed. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "How do you know that Odd is sick?"

"Long story," Yumi said. "And if anyone asks, I slept here."

"Ok," Aelita agreed in confusion.

"Let's go," Yumi said as she led her to the boys' floor. They came to Jeremie's door and knocked loudly. "Jeremie!" Yumi yelled. "Wake up!"

This attracted not only Jeremie's attention, but Jim's as well. The large man came up to the girls just as Jeremie opened the door. "What's going on here?" Jim grunted. "Ishiyama, what are you doing here?"

"I slept in Aelita's room," Yumi lied. "Ulrich just called and told us that Odd's got a fever, so we came to get Jeremie."

"Odd's sick?" Jeremie asked.

"Come on," Jim said as he led the way to the boys' dorm room. "We'll check on the kid."

They entered the room, having found the door unlocked. Ulrich was sitting on the bed, beside a very exhausted-looking Odd, who was suddenly not so happy that his roommate's girlfriend had spent the night in the room. "What's wrong?" Jim asked as he stood beside them. "Are you alright, Della Robbia?"

"Just peachy," Odd said sarcastically. "Seriously, you can all go back to bed. I'm fine." His suggestion proved to have fallen on deaf ears however, as Jim's large calloused hand covered his forehead. "What are you doing?"

"You have a fever," Jim told him. "I'm going to get Dorothy. Odd, you stay put."

"As if I had a choice," Odd muttered before he began coughing again.

Yumi shook her head. "I'll go get you some water from the vending machine," she said as she got up and headed down the hall.

"Why do you all have to make this a big deal?" Odd asked moodily.

"Because it is a big deal," Aelita said as she sat on Ulrich's bed. "You can't afford to get sick Odd."

"They won't give you the transplant if you're too sick," Jeremie added.

"I'm fine," Odd told them again defiantly. "I just want to go to sleep. Can you all please go to bed?"

"Too late now," Ulrich said. "The nurse is already on her way to take a look at you. You can go back to sleep as soon as she's done."

Odd frowned and looked away from the nervous pairs of eyes that watched him. He sat in silence until Yumi returned with the water and set it on the bedside table as Jim and Dorothy came in just after her. Dorothy took Ulrich's place beside Odd and excused the others from the room. She grabbed the stethoscope that hung around her neck and put it in her ears and pulled Odd's blankets away a bit. "Odd I need you to take off your shirt a minute," she said.

Odd complied and sat up straight once he was done, bracing himself for the touch of the freezing metal on his skin. A slight shiver went down his spine as the stethoscope was placed on his chest. "Take a deep breath," Dorothy told him. He did so, and she moved to the other side of his chest. "Again," she said with a slight frown. Once he'd done it she moved the stethoscope to his back and told him to breathe again.

This time, as Odd breathed in, he began to cough. Dorothy removed the stethoscope from her ears and let it hang around her neck again. "Odd, how are you feeling?" she asked as she touched his hot forehead gently. "Is that cough painful?"

"No," Odd replied. "Just annoying."

Dorothy smiled at him sympathetically and removed her hand. "Well, I think this is just caused by your medicine," she said. "These are pretty normal side effects. I think that maybe you should have a checkup with your doctor tomorrow, though, just in case. For now, just get some sleep." She stood and opened the door while Odd put his shirt back on.

Yumi, Aelita, Jeremie, and Ulrich came back in as Jim and Dorothy left. Odd lied back on his pillows and gave her friends a dirty look. "I told you it wasn't a big deal," h said. "You guys really need to stop treating me like a baby."

Aelita just shook her head. "Not a chance," she joked, though she looked at him hesitantly. "So, you're ok?"

"Yea," Odd replied. "I'm fine."

* * *

Sissi couldn't sleep that night. Things were just so unusual at Kadic recently that sleeping there felt awkward and uncomfortable. She just had so much on her mind, and all she was used to thinking about was her appearance and her jealousy of Ulrich's friends. Her newest thoughts and feelings were foreign to her.

Sighing, she stood up and put on a pair of slippers. She decided to go see her father in hopes that he could help her sort out her thoughts. She walked down the quiet halls to the Principal's quarters, and was about to knock on his bedroom door when she heard voices coming from his office beside it. Quietly, she peaked through the small opening and saw the nurse and Jim standing with her father. Dorothy was talking about Odd, who had apparently woken up sick during the night. "I'm going to call Dr. Greene first thing in the morning to see if he can fit him in for an appointment," she was saying.

"I thought you said that it was just the medicine," Jim said.

Sissi saw a look of deep nervousness on the nurse's face. "Yes, the cough and the fever probably are," Dorothy said. "His doctor still needs to confirm that it isn't anything more serious. But that actually isn't my biggest concern. I didn't like how his heartbeat was sounding when I examined him. I'm a bit worried that his problem might be progressing more quickly than expected."

Sissi bit her lip worriedly. Her father gave a dismayed sigh. "Poor boy…"

"I should be getting back to the infirmary now," Dorothy said.

Mr. Delmas nodded absently, dismissing his employees, and Sissi hid in the shadow of a large statue beside the door. However, only Dorothy left the room, and Sissi strained herself to hear the rest of Jim's and her father's conversation. "Oh, sir," she heard Jim staying. "I just wanted to tell you that Yumi Ishiyama is sleeping in Aelita Stones's bedroom tonight. I wasn't sure if you had already known."

"Her mother had called earlier to tell me," Mr. Delmas said.

Deciding that this conversation was of no importance, Sissi left before Jim and headed back to her own room to think. As she passed Aelita's room, Yumi and Aelita were just entering it again. Sissi stood at Aelita's doorway awkwardly. "Is Odd alright?" she asked. "I heard Daddy talking to the nurse about what happened."

Yumi nodded while Aelita smiled slightly. "He'll be just fine," Aelita said as she sat on her bed.

Sissi gave a small nod, knowing that they must not have been told about Dorothy's suspicion. She stood there a moment longer, not sure if she should leave or say something about what she'd heard. She looked around the room, observing Yumi's bag on the floor and the lack of a sleeping bag on the floor.

Yumi looked at Sissi questioningly as she lingered in the doorway. "You should go to bed Sissi," she said.

Sissi turned to leave, but looked over her shoulder before going. "If I didn't know any better," she said. "I'd say that Aelita slept here alone all night."

Yumi and Aelita watched the door shut behind Sissi before looking at each other and shrugging. "Let's just get ready for bed."

* * *

**So like I said, not the best chapter, but it needed to be in there.**

**Next chapter: Odd confesses to Sissi, but will she break his heart? Does she care about Odd or is she still jealous of Ulrich and Yumi?**


	12. Chapter 12

**I felt bad about taking so long to update last time, especially since it took three weeks for that last, not-so-great chapter, so I decided to update today! I was also kind of excited about getting to the next couple of chapters. Read and review!**

* * *

Odd was woken at ten the next morning by his four friends for breakfast, which Aelita brought to him in bed. She set a tray with a large stack of waffles in front of him with a warm smile on her face. "I know you're mad at us for fussing over you last night," she said. "So we brought a peace offering. Rosa made them special, just for you!" 

Odd smiled slightly at the nice gesture, but he wasn't feeling all that hungry. He honestly hadn't felt hungry since he'd been put on his medications. "Thanks guys," he said as he politely grabbed the fork off of the tray and picked at the food slowly. He laughed as Kiwi jumped up onto his bed, begging for some of his food.

"I know you aren't hungry," Yumi said as she sat down beside Ulrich on the other bed, "but you need to eat something."

"I know," Odd sighed, before actually putting some of the food into his mouth. He chewed the big mouthful with exaggeration. "Happy?" he said as he stuck out his tongue with the chewed food still on it.

Yumi and Aelita wrinkled their noses in pretend disgust and Jeremie shook his head. "Odd, put the food back _into_ your mouth," Ulrich berated him.

Odd grinned and ate. He left three of the four waffles untouched on the plate, but no one said anything else on the subject. "I was talking to the nurse this morning," Ulrich said. "She told me that you have an appointment at the hospital today at 4."

Odd rolled his eyes. "Sounds like a blast," he said sarcastically.

"How are you feeling today?" Jeremie asked tentatively.

"Fine," Odd snapped. "You heard the nurse last night. It was just my medicine."

Everyone sat in an uncomfortable silence. Ulrich looked at his best friend guiltily. He understood why Odd was so frustrated with everything, but he had to worry look out him, whether he liked it or not. Every time the blonde got angry with them, he just had to remind himself that Odd would be more grateful once he was better.

"So…" Aelita said, trying to ease the tension. "What do you guys want to do today?"

"Eh, I'm not really in the mood to go do anything," Yumi said, still in a bit of a slump after the events of the nights before. "I think maybe I should go home soon… hopefully everything has been sorted out…"

Ulrich put his arm around her protectively and she leaned into his chest. "It's all going to work out," he told her.

Jeremie looked at Aelita thoughtfully. "We haven't really worked on your antivirus lately," he said.

"You should go do that now," Odd said. "Don't take time off just because of me. Besides, when was the last time you checked on Xana? He rarely gives us this much time off. It's kind of worrying me."

"Are you sure you want us to go?" Aelita asked, not wanting to leave Odd to be bored.

Odd nodded his head and pulled Kiwi into his lap, petting him lovingly. "In fact, I think Yumi and Ulrich should go too. Yumi, it'll probably help get your mind off of things."

"Odd, we don't want to leave you all by yourself," Ulrich said.

"You won't have to," Odd said as there was a knock at the door. "Sissi's coming over, remember?"

Jeremie, being the closest to the door, opened it and let Sissi in. "Good morning guys," she said in a friendly voice. "What's up?"

Odd smiled as Kiwi ran up to the girl wagging his tail. "They were all about to head off to Jeremie's room," he told her.

"Oh," Sissi said as she sat down beside Odd. She held up a CD in her hand to show it to him. "I brought that mix of the Dandy Warhols I was telling you about."

"Awesome," Odd said. He looked at his other friends pointedly. "Go on guys. I'll see you all later."

Ulrich sighed as he stood up. He offered Yumi a hand, helping her up and following Jeremie and Aelita out of the door. "Later," Yumi said.

"So how about we listen to that CD?" Sissi asked as she stood and went over to the boys' computer and went to put it in. "What's this in here?"

"Hm?" Odd asked. "What's what?"

"The CD in here," Sissi said as she picked up the burnt CD. "It has my name on it."

Odd looked down as a blush spread across his face. "Oh," he said. "I… um… burnt that for you…"

Sissi smiled. "Really?" she asked as she put it back in the CD. "Is it that new Subsonics album you said you'd burn?"

"No…"

"Let's listen to it," Sissi said as she brought up the media player program on the computer. "What's on it?"

"You can listen to it later if you want," Odd told her.

"I want to listen to it now," she said happily. She looked at the track list on the screen. "'Dizzy Miss Lizzy?'" she said with amusement. "Daddy used to play that song for me when I was little."

"Principal Delmas likes the Beatles?" Odd asked in disbelief.

Sissi nodded her head. "Yup," she said while reading the rest of the song title. "He got me into them. Plays their music on his guitar, too."

"He plays the guitar?" Odd's eyes were wide with shock.

"Mhm..." She looked at Odd after seeing on specific song on the list. "I really like this song. I'm kind of surprised you put it on here though."

"Which song?" Odd asked.

"'You and Me,'" Sissi replied. "It's not as upbeat as the rest of the music you like."

"I like Lifehouse a lot actually," Odd said. "Play it."

"Ok." Sissi pressed play and came and sat back over by Odd. "So… how are you feeling?"

"No worse than usual lately," Odd said truthfully. "But no better either…"

Sissi nodded understandingly, and an awkward silence passed between them for a moment as she listened to the words of the song.

_All of the things that I want to say  
Just aren't coming out right  
I'm tripping inwards; you got my head spinning  
I don't know where to go from here_

Odd watched Sissi intently while she picked up Kiwi a scratched his stomach. Kiwi really liked her, and Odd knew by now that his dog was a great judge of character, better than himself even. If Kiwi liked her and he liked her, than it was ok by him… and hopefully his friends as well. "Sissi?"

Sissi looked up at him questioningly. "Yes, Odd?"

"I… um… well, you see…" Odd was fumbling with what he was trying to say, and Sissi giggled a bit at him. He sighed and looked down. "I've really been having fun… talking to you and stuff…"

"Yea," Sissi said. "I like hanging out with you and your friends."

Odd smiled slightly and looked back up at her. He couldn't remember ever being made so nervous by a girl. "I just really wanted to tell you that I…" He trailed off timidly.

"What is it?" she asked him worriedly as he stopped. "Are you feeling ok?"

"I like you, Sissi" Odd blurted out quickly, his face turning bright red.

Sissi looked at him in shock and frowned a bit. "Oh," she said quietly, her eyes turning sad.

Odd looked down, dejected. "Was that the wrong this to say?" he asked.

Sissi didn't answer him as she stood up. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she walked to the door. "I have to go…"

Odd just watched her leave, not completely realizing what had just happened. It wasn't until he got a phone call two minutes later that he snapped out of it. He picked up his cell phone and saw that it was Yumi, probably to check up on him. "Hello?"

_"Hey, Odd. How are you doing over there? Sissi still with you?"_

"No," Odd replied miserably. "She… it was pretty disastrous…"

_"What was?"_ Yumi asked in bewilderment.

"Well…"

* * *

Sissi lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She was attempting to keep her mind off of what had just happened and off of the guilt growing in her stomach. On her way out of Odd's room, she hadn't even been able to look back at his heartbroken face for fear that she might start to cry. She didn't even know why she'd done in. She'd just felt like she needed to run away. 

A knock at her door disturbed her from her thoughts. Sighing, she stood and went to the door and opened it, revealing the girl she'd considered her competition for so long standing there with her arms crossed angrily. "Yumi?" she asked confusedly.

Yumi didn't wait to be let in as she pushed past Sissi and entered. "I can't believe you!" she said, sounding infuriated.

"What are you doing here?" Sissi asked her as she closed the door.

"We talked to Odd," Yumi said. "He told me what happened."

"He did?" Sissi said. She leaned against her door and folded her arms over her chest, looking at the floor. The carpet suddenly looked very interesting to her.

"Yea, he did," Yumi snapped. "How could you do that to him? After all that time you spent with him-"

"As friends," Sissi cut her off.

Yumi glared at her. "You didn't have to hurt him like that! He likes you Sissi. Is it a crime?"

"I like Ulrich," Sissi said suddenly in the prissy tone that Yumi was used to hearing her use. "Remember?"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, Ulrich is _my_ boyfriend," Yumi said. "And it isn't Ulrich you've been spending all of your time with. It isn't Ulrich you've been nicer to."

Sissi made a soft sound of indignation from her throat and walked past Yumi toward the bed, but Yumi grabbed her arm roughly. She turned her head to glare at the Japanese girl.

"You know what I think?" Yumi asked. "You don't like Ulrich half as much as you think you do."

Sissi yanked her arm from Yumi's grasp and stood up straight, face to face with her. "You don't know what you're talking about," she hissed.

"Sissi," Yumi said in a less harsh tone. "Do you like Odd?"

Sissi feigned amusement. "Ha… me… like Odd… Yumi, you're a real riot, you know that?"

But to her dismay, Yumi didn't relent. "Do you love him?" she asked in a way that made Sissi very uncomfortable. At the silence that met her ears, Yumi smirked. "You do love him don't you?"

"Ok!" Sissi cried. "Maybe I have feelings for him! But… I can't… because we never got along before and… and… it just… wouldn't work."

"That's ridiculous," Yumi said dismissively. "Odd isn't thinking about it that way."

"How do you know that I don't just feel bad for him because he's… because he's…" Sissi looked away wistfully before her back to Yumi.

"Dying?" Yumi finished for her. "You know, it would have been awful if you were pretending to have feelings for him, but it's even worse that you're pretending that you don't. You do love Odd, but if you're going to deny that just because you are scared that he might die, then you don't deserve his love." She stood there, waiting for a response, but Sissi just kept her back to her and stared at her feet. Yumi sighed. "And to think that I actually believed Odd and thought that there was some good in you. Now he's got nothing but a broken heart."

"You're right," Sissi whispered in a muffled voice as Yumi noticed her shoulders shaking through silent sobs. "I don't deserve him… at all…"

"Sissi-"

Just at that moment, they were interrupted by a loud crash that knocked the door down. "What was that?" Sissi cried as she turned around, wiping the tears from her cheeks quickly.

The girls both gasped when they saw Jim standing in the doorway with a strange look in his eyes. "Xana!" Yumi shouted.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! I'm not positive, but I'd say that there are maybe 4 chapters left of this story (I actually have the very last chapter written, so the ending is pretty much set except for a few details between now and then), and then I'll be moving on to write the sequel of _The Way He Would Have Wanted It_. Please review this chapter guys!**

**Next chapter: Turns out Xana was conserving energy for a reason, and it could get one or more of the Lyoko heroes killed!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all of the reviews guys! Here's chapter 13!Please review!**

* * *

Sissi screamed as Jim barged into her bedroom, charging straight for Yumi. It all happened so quickly for her. She ran at Jim to help out Yumi, but Jim avoided her and grabbed the collar of Yumi's shirt, lifting her high into the air. "Yumi!" Sissi cried in terror as Jim turned to advance at her.

"Go get Jeremie!" Yumi said as she tried to fight off her teacher. "Tell him that Xana is attacking!"

"Xana?" Sissi repeated in confusion, before dodging a grab that Jim made at her. She squealed in fear as she tried to escape.

"Just do it!" Yumi yelled.

"But…" Sissi looked around and saw her chance to get past Jim.

"GO!" Yumi shouted. Sissi wasted no more time and ran out her door and up the stairs. She pushed through a couple of people hurriedly and banged on Jeremie's door.

"Jeremie open up!" she cried. "Hurry!"

The door opened, revealing a very annoyed-looking Jeremie. "What do _you_ want?" he asked, clearly angry about what had happened between Odd and Sissi earlier. Behind him, Aelita stood, looking a little more concerned than her boyfriend.

"Jim took Yumi!" Sissi told him desperately, hoping he'd believe her. "He grabbed her from my room, and I don't know where he's taking her! She told me to come get you, and tell you that someone was attacking… I think she said… Xana?"

Two pairs of eyes widened. "Jeremie, we have to hurry," Aelita said as she and Jeremie stepped into the hall.

Jeremie turned to Sissi. "Do you think you can go tell Ulrich?" he asked. "Tell him to go to the Factory."

"I will," Sissi said. "What's going on? I'm confused."

"Just go Sissi," Jeremie said as he and Aelita took off down the hall.

Sissi ran in the opposite direction, towards Ulrich's room, but something along the way stopped her. She saw Odd stumbling towards her, trying to run as he leaned against the wall for support. She cried out his name and ran to him, letting him lean on her instead. "Sissi, they got Ulrich," Odd said sadly. "We need to get out of here. Mrs. Hertz came into out room and attacked him. I got out but there are a load of teachers in the halls, rounding up students, and they know that I'm running from them. We need to get Jeremie, Yumi, and Aelita!"

Sissi nodded her head as she helped him run in the direction Jeremie and Aelita had gone. "Let me guess," she said. "You need to get to this factory place?"

"Yea," Odd replied. "How do you know?"

"They got Yumi too," she told him. "The others left." As they came to the stairs she looked over her shoulder and saw numerous teachers headed their way. Most had struggling students slung over their shoulders, but there were others ready to grab Odd and her. "Let's go!"

They got down the stairs and made a run for the doors, but someone else rammed into Sissi from the side. She cried out in shock as she and Odd fell to the ground, and she looked up to see her father standing over them. "Daddy?" she whispered fearfully.

When he tried to grab her she jumped away and stood up again in a defensive stance, ready to kick him if he came at her. And that was exactly what she did, causing something to fly out of the pocket of his jacket. Sissi froze and stared at the object, his set of car keys. "Sissi!" Odd cried out to alert her to another attack.

Sissi jumped out of her father's way and scooped up the car keys as she ran to the door that Odd was now holding open. She helped Odd run out to the parking lot towards her dad's car. She was so distracted that she didn't take notice of the other people around them until Odd yelled out. "It isn't just the teachers!"

Sissi looked to her right and saw two security guards approaching. "Hurry!" She almost sighed with relief when she saw the black car 20 feet ahead of them. "Get in!" she told the blonde.

Odd nodded and did as he was told, getting into the passenger's seat. Sissi got in on the driver's side and locked the doors. "Do you know how to drive?" Odd asked her a bit nervously.

Sissi put the key in the ignition and turned the car on. "Not well," she said nervously as she put the car in drive. "Buckle up."

Odd quickly secured his seat belt as the car pulled out of the parking spot. Sissi sped through the parking lot, swerving and narrowly missing a few people along the way. "Watch out!" Odd shouted as she nearly hit the gardener.

"Odd, where do we go?" Sissi asked frantically once they were out of the parking lot.

"The Factory is past the bridge," Odd told her as he pointed in one direction. "So turn left here."

"Ok…" Sissi turned a bit too sharply, but made the turn all the same. "I think I know how to get to the bridge… Um Odd… What's going on? It seems like you and your friends know all about it."

Odd never took his eyes off of the road, afraid that Sissi's maniac driving would kill them before they made it to the Factory. Fortunately there were no cars on the road at the moment, so it seemed safe enough. "It's going to sound pretty weird," he said. "Aelita is a virtual being, not a human. There's this virtual world called Lyoko that my friends and I found over a year ago.A program called Xana, though, lives in Lyoko, and it attacks our world."

"Aelita's from a virtual world?" Sissi asked skeptically. "How…?"

"We still don't know a lot about it," Odd confessed. "But we do know that we have to protect Aelita from Xana at all costs until we can get rid of a virus that he gave her and make her completely part of our world. Now, Xana attacks a lot in our world, and my friends and I have to take Aelita to the Factory so we can all go to Lyoko and stop Xana."

"If this Xana attacks so often, why haven't I heard of him," Sissi asked.

"You have," Odd told her. "You've helped us fight him before. You just don't remember, because we went back in time. My friends are the only people who do remember all of the returns to the past."

Sissi took her eyes off of the road for a second to look at him. "I still don't-"

"Sissi look out!" Odd yelled.

Sissi turned her head and screamed as she turned the wheel to avoid a large group of adults that were in front of the car. Odd shielded his eyes in case they hit someone. The car skidded to a halt and the teens saw the adults coming towards them, a few looking as if they were charging up electricity in their hands. Odd's eyes widened. "Sissi… I think every adult in the city had been possessed…"

"What do we do?" Sissi asked frantically.

"DRIVE!"

Sissi slammed her foot on the accelerator and they sped off. She saw the bridge and the Factory just ahead and smiled. "We're finally here!" she said as she stopped right outside of the Factory and jumped out of the car. She ran to Odd's side and helped him out.

"Come on," Odd told her as he leaned on her and ran in. "Let's get in there before those people do."

They made it to the elevator and shut the door just in time before the possessed adults showed up.

* * *

"Put me down!" Yumi shouted as she tried to kick Jim. Around her she saw numerous other students doing the same as teachers carried them as well. She had no clue of what Xana was planning, but she saw that they were headed for the school's auditorium.

Once inside the large room Jim threw her roughly to the ground and she got up and tried to run, only to have him throw her back again. It seemed that Yumi had been among the last group of kids to be thrown into the auditorium. All of the teachers were leaving, and the students soon found themselves locked in. Around her, Yumi heard numerous kids crying, arguing, and trying to force their ways out.

William was nearby, and he found her quickly. "Yumi are you alright?" he asked. Yumi nodded silently. "What the hell is going on here?" the boy muttered.

"YUMI!" someone shouted behind Yumi.

She turned around to see Ulrich running to her. She threw her arms around him. "Oh God, Ulrich," she said. "What's going on? How did he get control of so many people at once?"

Ulrich shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "But the others aren't here, so I think they got away."

"What do you think Xana is going to do with all of us?" Yumi asked fearfully.

"You're friends aren't here?" William asked, completely ignoring the bit about Xana. "Have you tried to call them? Maybe they can get help!"

Yumi pulled out her phone and dialed Jeremie's number as Ulrich and William joined a group of kids trying to bust down the seemingly fortified doors. "Come on Jer, pick up!" she mumbled.

_"Hello?"_

"Jeremie, are you and Aelita alright?" Yumi asked.

_"We're at the Factory. Odd and Sissi got here too."_

"Thank God. Have you called the police?" she asked hopefully.

_"Yumi, there are no police. Every adult in the city has been possessed. I don't know how Xana did it. It's not good."_

Ulrich and William suddenly stood still, smelling the air. "You smell it too?" William asked.

Ulrich's eyes widened. "Yumi! They've set the place on fire! They're going to burn us all alive!"

_"Yumi, was that Ulrich? What's going on?"_

"Jeremie," Yumi said shakily. "They locked us all in the auditorium and… and they've set it on fire…"

_"We'll deactivate that tower."_

Yumi didn't think that Jeremie sounded so sure. "Please hurry!"

* * *

"Aelita," Jeremie said looking very miserable. "I… I don't want to send you alone… but they need you to go now."

Aelita stood up from where she and Sissi were crouched over Odd, fussing over him and making sure he was alright. "Jeremie, I'll be fine," she assured him.

"She's not going alone," Odd said as he stood up, most of his weight being supported by Sissi because of his exhaustion from their escape.

"You aren't going in this condition," Aelita told him.

"It's not your decision," Odd said sourly. "Jeremie, send me. Aelita needs someone to protect her."

Jeremie looked indecisive for a moment before sighing and giving a nod. "Hurry up guys."

* * *

Sissi stood in front of Odd's scanner, watching him as he leaned against its wall. He looked exhausted, with dark circles around his blue eyes. His skin was pale, and his breathing was ragged. "Are you sure you should go?" she asked him. "It sounds dangerous."

"It is," Odd told her. "But I have to go. Or else the others won't make it."

Tears filled Sissi's eyes and she bit her lip. "Odd… I… about earlier…"

Odd frowned and looked at the floor. "Sissi, take a step back," he said. "Jeremie needs to scan me in."

Sissi watched as the doors of the scanner closed and blocked off her view of him. "I love you," she whispered as she wiped her eyes and sat down on the floor, prepared to wait until he returned.

* * *

**I feel like I rushed it a little, but I'm not so good at writing the action stuff. I tried though, I hope you guys liked it so far. I wanted to write more, but this was getting a little long. Don't forget to review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! Thank you for those reviews! I'm glad you liked the last chapter! There should be 2 chapters left now, unless of course the next one is longer than I expect it to be. But this chapter is definitely the conclusion of the Xana attack. Please review!**

* * *

Chaos had passed over the auditorium. The fire hadn't spread far yet because of the size of the building, but the kids wouldn't be lucky for too long. Fire had already spread to the high ceiling above their heads, and there was no way out. Every door was locked, and the windows were unbreakable.

Ulrich and William were both working together to try and take charge of the situation while Yumi tried to calm some of the younger kids down. She sat between Milly and Tamia, with one arm around each girl's shoulders in as comforting of a hug as she could offer. Milly was crying hysterically. "We're going to die," she sobbed.

"No," Yumi said firmly. "We'll all be alright. We just need to stay as far away from the fire as we can until help comes."

"But the whole building will be on fire!" Tamia argued.

"And the smoke is going to fill the room up soon," Milly said. "We'll all suffocate!"

"Help will come before that happens!" Yumi told them. She sighed and looked around for her boyfriend, but saw only William in her view looking for a way out. She patted Milly on the back before jogging over to the boy. Suddenly, Milly's smoke comment began to make a lot more sense. William was closer to the fire, and as she came nearer to him, smoke was filling the air around them. She covered her mouth and nose with her hand as best as she could. "William! Have you found anything yet?"

"No," William told her dejectedly. "It's like there's some kind of force-field on everything. And even if we could get the doors open, they're too hot to touch. We're going to have to-"

"YUMI WATCH OUT!" a voice shouted as a loud crackling noise filled the air from above her. Yumi looked up to see that she was about to be crushed by a piece of ceiling that was falling, but someone pushed her out of the way just in time.

"Yumi?" William asked as he pulled her to her feet.

Yumi didn't respond while she looked behind her at where she'd just been standing to see her boyfriend trapped beneath the fallen debris. "Ulrich!"

* * *

Odd had never been so thankful for transportation ever in his life. As tired as he was, there was no way he could run around Lyoko without his Overboard. Aelita held onto him tightly as they tried to escape the two hornets that were shooting at them. Every now and then, Odd would shoot an arrow at one, but he was directing most of the very little energy he had to dodging their lasers.

_"You guys need to hurry up!"_ Jeremie's voice said._ "I've been trying to call Ulrich and Yumi, but neither of them is answering. I'm afraid something bad has happened!"_

"We're almost at the tower," Aelita said. "This is almost too easy though, especially considering the shape that Odd is in. The Scipizoa isn't nearby is it?"

_"No,"_ Jeremie told her. _"I think Xana has put way too much energy into possessing so many people that he wasn't focused on getting you. He's just trying to kill as many people as possible."_

"Then this should be over in no time," Odd said.

_"Spoke too soon. Two Krabes were virtualized in front of the tower!"_

Odd turned to Aelita. "Looks like you've got the Overboard," he told her. "Don't worry. I've got you covered."

As they got to the tower, Odd did a flip off of his vehicle and landed on all fours just in front of the Krabes. Aelita, circled the top of the tower, waiting for the path to her entrance to be cleared. Odd dodged a laser from one of the hornets before standing directly between the hornets and a Krabe. After waiting just enough time for the Krabe's laser to charge up, he jumped out of the way, allowing the Krabe to destroy both hornets in on shot. "Two down, two to go," Odd said to himself.

He aimed an arrow at the Krabe, but the laser of the other hit him before he shot.

_"Odd, that took fifty life points!"_ Jeremie exclaimed. _"You're much too vulnerable right now. One hit and you're done."

* * *

_

"Ulrich, are you ok?" Yumi asked frantically, grabbing his hand while William and a couple of other kids pulled the debris off of him.

Blood was dripping from a huge gash in the side of Ulrich's head, and he was trapped from his mid-back down. He opened his eyes slightly and groaned. "Yumi…"

"I'm right here," Yumi told him as she kissed his cheek gently. She pulled away and saw his eyes begin to fall shut. "Stay awake, Ulrich. Okay? You can't sleep."

"I love you Yumi," Ulrich mumbled.

Tears filled Yumi's eyes and she squeezed his hand tighter. "I love you too," she whispered. "Why did you have to push me out of the way and get yourself hurt? Oh Ulrich…" She began to cough from inhaling so much smoke. She looked around and noticed that the fire was surrounding everyone now. She quickly looked back at her boyfriend. "Does is hurt?"

Ulrich smirked a bit. "I'm… fine…"

Yumi remained silent as the boys finally heaved the last large piece of wood and plaster off of him. He was a bloody mess, and Yumi figured he had more than a few broken bones. "Ulrich!" she shouted as his eyes shut. "Stay awake! Damn it! Stay with me… please…"

But it was no use yelling for him. He'd lost consciousness.

* * *

"Think of something, you idiot," Odd said quietly to himself while shooting arrows at both of the monsters randomly. Just as he was about to give up, Aelita came down low enough for him to jump onto the board and dropped him on top of a Krabe. "Laser arrow!" he cried as he shot it right on target.

Odd jumped off when it exploded and aimed at the other. "Now, Aelita!"

Aelita jumped off of the Overboard and ran into the tower quickly, just as the Krabe hit Odd and de-virtualized him.

* * *

Odd fell out of the scanner, into Sissi's arms. He was so tired, and his chest hurt pretty badly. "Odd?" Sissi asked. "What happened?"

"It doesn't matter," he said without bothering to straighten up. "You won't remember it anyway."

Just then, a white light engulfed everything.

Sissi was once again lying in her bed, but this time she wasn't sulking. She was utterly confused as to how she'd gotten there from the Factory. A knock at her door once again told her of Yumi's arrival and she opened the door. "Ishiyama," she said seriously. "What happened? How did I get here? How'd you get out of the auditorium?"

Yumi's eyes went wide in shock. "You… You remember?" she asked.

Sissi gave her a strange look, but then realization dawned on her. "Wait… did we just have a… a… what do you call it? 'Return to the past?'"

"Yea," Yumi said slowly. "But… you don't normally remember those… Did you go to Lyoko Sissi?"

Sissi shook her head. "What the hell is going on?" Yumi muttered. "Sissi we need to go talk to Jeremie, _now_."

"Did he make me remember this?" Sissi asked in confusion.

"Let's just go," Yumi told her as she led her off to Jeremie's room. She banged on the door loudly. "Jeremie open up!"

The door opened, to reveal Jeremie and Aelita just as the time before. "What's going on?" Jeremie asked as Yumi entered and pulled Sissi in with her.

"She remembers," Yumi said, as if accusing Sissi of a crime.

Jeremie and Aelita both looked shock. "You remember?" Jeremie asked her.

Sissi nodded. "I remember."

"How could this happen?" Yumi asked the blonde boy.

"The return trip didn't work properly," Jeremie said as he looked Sissi up and down, as if he was preparing to cross-examine her. "But I think she's the only extra person who remembered. I wonder if anything else didn't revert properly."

"Oh no," Sissi gasped suddenly as she thought about what happened just before the return. "Odd!" Without an explanation, she ran towards Odd's bedroom, with the other three in tow behind her. She opened his door without even bothering to knock and was horrified at what she saw.

Odd was on his side in bed breathing in forced breaths. His hand was grasping at his chest in pain that his face clearly conveyed to them. The four kids all ran straight to his side. Sissi knelt beside Odd and put her hand on his shoulder. "Odd?" she said fearfully.

Odd looked at Sissi through pained eyes. "It hurts so bad," he gasped.

Sissi ran her fingers through his hair in, what she hoped was, a soothing way. "It's going to be ok," she whispered.

"I'm calling an ambulance," Aelita said as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed.

Yumi sat beside Odd and grabbed his free hand. "You'll be alright," she tried to assure him.

Odd looked at her guiltily. "Yumi," he said softly. "Ulrich... He was here… before… He should be here."

Jeremie's and Yumi's eyes widened. "Oh no, Jeremie… Do you think…?"

"You were stuck in the auditorium, right?" Jeremie asked, receiving a small nod in response. "Ok. Let's go check there. Aelita, you and Sissi get Odd in his wheelchair and to the infirmary so that the paramedics can get him from there."

"Alright Jeremie," Aelita said, while still on the phone.

"Let's go," Yumi said. She ran off with Jeremie beside her to the auditorium.

"Were either of you hurt before the return trip?" Jeremie asked.

"Yes," Yumi told him. "Part of the ceiling fell on Ulrich, and he was knocked unconscious just before the return. He was pretty messed up, but I'm sure he was still alive…"

Jeremie nodded and they ran faster. When they got to the auditorium they found the first set of doors they tried were locked. "Damn it!" Yumi cursed angrily before they ran to the other set of doors.

Jeremie pulled on the door, and it opened up, revealing a very dim room. Yumi ran in and gasped. "Ulrich!"

When Jeremie got in, he saw Yumi holding Ulrich's limp form, but nothing appeared to be wrong with him besides that he looked like he was sleeping. Jeremie checked the boy's pulse and was very happy to find a faint one.

"Ulrich wake up." Yumi said desperately. "Please wake up."

"We need to get him to the infirmary," Jeremie said as he helped her pull Ulrich up. Each of them slung one of Ulrich's arms over their shoulders and dragged him away.

Yumi stared at Ulrich's face the entire way, praying for him to open his eyes. "Don't worry Ulrich," she whispered, more to herself than to him. "It's all going to be alright."


	15. Chapter 15

**Once again, thanks for the awesome reviews guys! They really make me so happy! You have all truly been amazing reviewers! I hope that these last twoupdates will be good enough for all of you!**

**As always... Read and review!**

* * *

It had been three days since Xana's attempt at building an army to kill all of Kadic's students. Odd was in such a bad condition that he needed a heart transplant as soon as possible, and there was no way he would be leaving the hospital until he got one. Aelita and Jeremie had been with him almost the entire time at the hospital, but this was Sissi's first day visiting him because of her guilt from their previous conversation. The three kids sat with Odd while Mr. Delmas talked to Dr. Greene just outside the door. 

They were all awkwardly silent, but no one knew what to say. Just looking at Odd was painful for them. He was almost as pale as the white sheets that covered him, and his lips were bluish. A breathing mask was placed over his nose and mouth, and the heart monitor beeped with a barely steady rhythm. He could hardly keep his eyes open.

When she'd first walked into the room the scene had been all too familiar. Just a little over a week before she'd walked in to see Odd in a similar, yet less severe, situation. How had she fallen in love with the boy over the course of that week? It baffled her, but she wondered if somehow she'd loved him all along, even when she'd thought she hated him. Sissi wanted to hold his hand and tell him that everything was going to be alright, but she just couldn't bring herself to say a word of comfort to him.

Mr. Delmas and Dr. Greene walked into the room after a bit, their faces revealing emotions that seemed to be a mix of fear and relief. "Odd we need to talk to you," Mr. Delmas said.

Odd opened his eyes and looked at the two men tiredly in response. Dr. Greene offered him a small smile. "We found a donor," he told everyone in the room.

Aelita smiled and hugged Jeremie, while Odd just stared in silence. Sissi felt relief overwhelm her. "When is he going to get it?" she asked curiously.

"Tonight," Dr. Green replied. "Now Odd, I need to talk to you about the procedure. You know that it comes with its risks."

Odd nodded. "Yea," he replied in a soft, sleepy voice.

"Well, we want to get the surgery underway at 6 pm," the doctor told him. "And after that, if the surgery goes smoothly, you will be in intensive care for about a week and in the hospital for about three weeks after that. You'll be required to take medications for the rest of your life to prevent transplant rejection."

Sissi looked at Odd and saw no reaction on his face to the information he was being given, but she knew that he was scared.

"I've already discussed a lot about this with you before," Dr. Greene said, "but do you have any questions?"

"No," Odd said as he closed his eyes again.

With everything said, Dr. Greene left the room to go check on other patients before he performed the surgery. Mr. Delmas patted his daughter's shoulder, before excusing himself to try one last time to call the Della Robbias. Jeremie, Aelita, and Sissi were once again left in awkward silence, but Aelita had other plans to change that. "Jeremie, we should go see how Yumi and Ulrich are doing," she said.

Jeremie saw what she was doing and nodded. "Yea," he replied. "I'm sure Yumi could use some company other than Ulrich's parents."

"Are you going to be ok Odd?" Aelita asked. Odd nodded lightly, and she kissed his forehead. "We'll be back soon."

The couple stood and walked out, leaving Sissi and Odd alone.

* * *

Yumi sat beside her comatose boyfriend's bed, holding his hand in her own lovingly. His parents had stepped out to get some air, and she was happy to have some time alone with him. He'd been hospitalized after 'passing out and hitting his head.' The doctors expected him to wake up soon, having only received a minor concussion, but Yumi was still afraid for him. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Hey there," she said. "You're being really stubborn, you know. Why are you making us wait this long for you to wake up?" 

She heard the door opening and assumed that the Sterns were back, but to her surprise, she heard Aelita's voice say her name. Yumi turned her head to see Aelita and Jeremie standing beside her. "How is he?" Yumi asked as she looked back down at the hand she held.

"Not good," Jeremie said. "But he will be. They found him a donor."

Yumi's eyes widened and she looked back up. "They… they did?"

Aelita nodded. "He's going to get it tonight," she said as she looked up at the clock. "In about 6 hours."

"Oh my gosh," Yumi murmured unsurely.

"You should go see him before the surgery," Jeremie told her. "I know that you don't want to leave Ulrich's side, but-"

"I'll go," Yumi said. "I want to see him. I'm just afraid that… What if Ulrich wakes up after the operation and Odd's… gone?"

"That won't happen," Aelita said briskly. "Don't even think like that. It's all going to turn out just fine."

"I hope so…"

* * *

Sissi watched Odd nervously for about a minute after the others had left, wondering what to say. She couldn't keep up the silence though. She knew that she had to say _something_ and at least try to have a normal conversation with him. "You know," she said to him, causing him to open his eyes and look at her. "I still don't think I've got a grasp on all of this virtual world stuff." Okay. Scratch the part about the _normal_ conversation and just make it _any_ conversation. "I know that you guys explained Lyoko and Xana and all, but it's just so weird that this whole thing existed and I never knew." 

Odd was silent for a moment before smirking. "Yea," he said tiredly, his voice still raspy and slow. "And, honestly… I've known a lot of things about you… that you'll never remember."

"But why do I remember now?" Sissi asked. "Because your 'return to the past' didn't work? Did Xana cause it?"

"No," Odd said. "Jeremie said it wasn't Xana… just a malfunction… But I think it was… supposed to happen…"

Sissi gave him a strange look. "I'm still confused."

"I think you remember… because… you're meant to know," Odd explained. "You're one of us now… I think you're… supposed to help fight Xana… in case I can't anymore…"

"No, you'll be able to fight," Sissi said, pushing that thought from her mind and grabbed his hand, catching him a bit off-guard. "I think there is something else I was supposed to remember," she said wistfully. "Yumi came to my room to talk to me about you. She… She asked me if I love you."

Odd frowned and closed his eyes. "We don't have to… talk about this… I understand… that you just want to be friends."

Sissi let out a sarcastic laugh. "No Odd. You don't understand, because that isn't what I want." She took a deep breath as Odd looked back at her inquiringly. "I want you to get your transplant, get better, and then… be with me."

Odd looked at his hand in hers, confused about how he should think. "Sissi…"

"Odd," Sissi said very seriously. "When I was talking to Yumi I realized that I was just scared because you're sick. I need to be brave Odd, because I think I'm in love with you. And I'm sorry that I hurt you. I never meant to do it."

After the longest minute of Sissi's life, Odd finally smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "You know," he said in a pretty sly voice for a boy in a hospital bed. "I think I figured out… what the real problem with my heart is."

"What's that?" Sissi asked curiously.

Odd's smile turned into a mischievous grin. "It hurts when you're not around," he joked. "But now that I've got… you, I have a feeling I'm going to be… feeling a whole lot better."

Sissi rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I bet you've said that cheesy line to a bunch of girls."

"Actually… I texted it to a bunch of girls… The difference is that… this time I mean it. I feel like we wasted… so much time not knowing… each other well enough…"

Sissi smiled. "Yea," she agreed as she kissed his cheek. "No more wasting time."

Odd smirked and weakly lifted his hand to the breathing mask, pulling it down low enough to uncover his mouth. "How about we really kiss?" he asked.

Sissi gave him a small nod and pressed her lips to his. In that moment, she could have sworn that fireworks filled the room, not at all like any kiss she'd ever shared with Ulrich. She brushed her hand across the side of his cheek as they deepened the kiss, before breaking away with a soft smile. "That was… perfect," she whispered before she put his breathing mask back where it belonged. She kept her face close to his, watching his exhausted eyes.

"Yea," Odd replied in somewhat of a daze. "You make me dizzy, Miss Lizzy," he mused quietly, recalling her fondness of the song.

Sissi giggled and shook her head as she sat up. "Della Robbia, you big cheesy dork…"

* * *

Aelita, Jeremie, Sissi, and Mr. Delmas were all sitting in the waiting room while Odd was being operated on. Yumi had gone back to Ulrich's room after visiting Odd and wishing him luck. 

Everyone was fairly calm, with the exception of Sissi, who couldn't seem to stop pacing the floor. Her father would try to tell her again every 2 minutes that she'd do better to just relax, but she didn't want to hear it, not while her boyfriend was in there.

It wasn't until about 7:30 that she became too tired to pace any longer, and she finally sat down beside her father. At about that same moment, two people came running into the room, looking very anxious and confused as they went to the information desk. Sissi looked at the woman, finding her strangely familiar. "We're here to see our son," the woman said. "His name is Odd Della Robbia."

* * *

Yumi sat alone at Ulrich's bedside, holding his hand between her own as she closed her eyes. "I don't really know what to believe lately," she whispered to some invisible person. "Having faith that good things will happen seems to be a lost cause for me. Whenever anything good ever happens to my friends and I, Xana has to come along and ruin it. It's not fair… We save the world all of the time. Don't we deserve to be happy?" She sighed. "I guess, I'm just saying… If there is a God or whatever, why is this happening? We need something good to happen… Please…" 

Yumi opened her eyes as the hand she held squeezed her hand lightly, as if in response her plea. She looked down at Ulrich to see his eyes fluttering open. "Ul… Ulrich?"

"Hmm?" Ulrich mumbled incoherently. "Yumi?"

"Ulrich!" Yumi cried excitedly. "You're awake!"

Ulrich looked up at her sluggishlyand nodded. "Wha.. what's going on?" he asked in confusion. "Where am I?"

"The hospital," Yumi told him. "You've been unconscious for three days."

"How?" Ulrich asked.

"Xana attacked," Yumi reminded him. "Do you remember it at all? The return trip malfunctioned and you were out cold."

"I'm sorry," Ulrich said softlyfor no real reason. "Is everyone else ok?"

"Well…" Yumi bit her lip and ran her fingers through his hair absently.

"What happened?" Ulrich asked, catching the nervousness in her voice.

"Odd's in surgery," Yumi told him. "He's getting the heart transplant as we speak…"

Ulrich pushed himself into a sitting position and held his head as it felt dizzy. He closed his eyes and tilted his head down. "Are you alright?" Yumi asked worriedly.

"Just a little headache," Ulrich said. When the dizzy spell went away he looked back at Yumi's nervous face. "It'll be ok," he tried to assure her… and himself. "Odd will be ok."

Yumi opened her mouth to say something else, but Aelita ran in excitedly, babbling about something Yumi didn't understand. When Aelita saw Ulrich, she came to a halt. "You- You're awake!" she exclaimed happily.

Ulrich nodded. "Yea…"

Aelita threw her arms around him in a friendly hug. "Oh this is great!" she said. "Ulrich, they came!"

"Who came?" Yumi asked. Ulrich, too, looked a bit confused.

Aelita's grin widened. "Odd's parents! They got the letter that we wrote to them, and we convinced them! They're here!"

Yumi and Ulrich looked at each other with smiles. "Well, what do you know?" Yumi said. "Two miracles in one night. Maybe we'll get a third."

* * *

Sissi looked at Mrs. Della Robbia again, realizing that Odd looked a lot like her, more than he looked like the man. Neither of the people was by any means short or scrawny, and Sissi wondered where Odd got it from. Mrs. Della Robbia looked fairly close to tears, and Sissi felt guilty that she'd ever resented Odd's parents for not spending time with him. Maybe it was the fact that she'd been so scared to be close to him that made her sympathize with them now. 

Sissi's father was reassuring them that Odd's surgery would go just fine when a nurse from the OR came into the waiting room and walked over to everyone. Sissi sat up from where she was slouching in her seat while she waited to hear the update on the surgery. "How is the surgery going?" Mr. Delmas asked.

"Well, we're having some complications," the nurse answered truthfully. "He's losing a lot of blood, more than is usual for this procedure. We're doing our best to stop the bleeding, but we aren't sure that he'll make it..."

Sissi closed her eyes, as the rest of the nurse's words became lost to her. 'Odd _can't_ die like this,' she thought. 'Please, don't let him die…'

* * *

**Sorry for the evil cliffhanger there guys, but I had to do it! Only thing left to write is the epilogue!**

**And "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" is a really good Beatles song... in case there was anyone who didn't understand the reference.**


	16. Epilogue

**Ah, the epilogue... This story has come to an end! I'm sad to be finished with it, especially since it's my first Code Lyoko story. And you guys have all been absolutely wonderful with your reviews. I'm so happy that I have such great readers! I hope you enjoy this last chapter! I've got some ideas for some new stories, so keep an eye out for them!**

**Please review!**

* * *

Sissi stared at the ceiling from where she lay on her bed, Kiwi curled up on her stomach comfortably as she stroked his back. She couldn't bring herself to feel very happy that day; there were just too many memories that it brought up again. "Can you believe that it's been one year today Kiwi?" she asked mournfully, and the dog yapped in response. She sighed sadly as she pet behind his ears. 

There was a knock at her door, but she had no time to open in when her visitors allowed themselves entry. She looked up to see Yumi and Aelita entering. "Are you ok?" Aelita asked, skipping the proper greetings. "You've kind of been lock up in your room all day."

Sissi sat up and moved Kiwi to her lap. "Yea, I'm fine… Just remembering…"

Aelita and Yumi nodded in understanding. "You should come one to the Factory with us," Yumi said. "We're going to have a little party in Odd's honor. Just the gang."

Sissi gave her friend a small smile. "Ok," she agreed. "Kiwi, go back to you're room. I hope Ulrich left the door open before he went to the soccer game."

Kiwi barked as he jumped off of her bed and ran out though the door. Aelita smiled warmly at her friends. "Let's go. The guys are going to meet us there, and Jeremie is dying to taste the cake that I bake in Home Ec."

The three girls walked together, first going to Aelita's room to pick up the cake. Once they'd retrieved it, they headed to the Factory, walking through the courtyard. Sissi's eyes found their way to the soda machines where she'd snuck out to meet Odd the year before, and she thought about that night.

_Flashback_

"_Hi Sissi," Odd greeted._

_Sissi smiled unsurely. "Are you sure it's ok for you to be out here?" she asked worriedly. "You aren't really supposed to be walking around."_

"_You're the one who set up the time and place for this rendezvous," Odd said mischievously._

_Sissi narrowed her eyes playfully. "Because you kept texting me all afternoon to meet you somewhere!" she said, accusingly pointing a finger at him. Odd smirked with satisfaction and she sighed. "But is it ok?" she asked as she pet Kiwi._

"_Don't worry," Odd said. "I feel fine. I needed to get out on my own."_

"_I don't get it," Sissi said. "Why did you want to meet with me?"_

_Odd set Kiwi down and stuck his hands in his sweatshirt pouch. "I don't know," he said. "You know, you were pretty much the only girl who didn't call me or text me to see if I was ok. I mean, I had to call you."_

_Sissi gave him a strange look, almost insulted by his comment. "What? You wanted the attention from me too?"_

_Odd shook his head and looked at his feet as he shifted his weighted from one to the other. "Just the opposite," he said. "I just wanted someone to be normal."_

_End Flashback_

They'd had one confusing hell of a start to their friendship. Sissi sighed, and suddenly realized that she'd been doing that a bit that day.

Pushing the thought from her head, she continued on the way to the Factory in silence. Walking through the sewers didn't quite disgust her as much as it had the first time she'd gone through them. She'd gotten pretty used to it during her year of being part of the team. She'd also gotten very used to her new friends. She couldn't understand why just a year before she'd considered Yumi nothing more than her rival in competing for Ulrich's heart. Not only did she get along with Yumi well, but she also couldn't imagine ever having romantic feelings for Ulrich again now that he was a close friend.

When the three girls reached the Factory, only Jeremie was there, waiting in the large room that people first came to when entering. He'd plugged in a small portable radio for some music, and Sissi instantly went over to it to find a suitable station, not quite trusting Jeremie's musical taste. "Hey Jeremie!" Aelita said happily as she set the cake down on a large box that Jeremie was sitting on.

"Hey," Jeremie said as he stood up and kissed Aelita on the cheek. "I just finished running the scan and it looks like today's going to be completely Xana-free."

"Good," Aelita said. "Yumi, when is that soccer game supposed to end?"

"Soon," the Japanese girl said. "Ulrich might even be on his way already."

"Great!" Aelita said with a smile.

Sissi walked a bit away from the group distractedly, looking around the room. She stared at the familiar empty elevator, remembering the first time she'd ever been there with Odd. It was painful to think about the deathly ill appearance he'd had as he'd stepped out of his scanner, and she felt herself becoming slightly depressed at the thought. She couldn't help but to think about that night of Odd's surgery and about what the nurse has told them. _"We're doing our best to stop the bleeding, but we aren't sure that he'll make it…"_ She shivered and shut her eyes.

Thankfully, Ulrich's voice interrupted her as he came in announcing loudly that he'd won the game. The others congratulated him and he began a retelling of the fantastic last play that he and Theo had made to score the winning point. Aelita, Jeremie, and Yumi all listened enthusiastically, but Sissi felt separated from the rest of them. It wasn't that she felt like an outsider in the group, but she just felt detached from their happiness.

She stared out into space blankly, so distracted that she barely took any notice of the hum of a familiar song. She gasped slightly when a pair of hands covered her eyes from behind. She smirked when the humming turned into whispered singing in her ear. "Everything she does is beautiful. Everything she does is right."

Sissi reached up and took the hands into her own, turning around to face her boyfriend. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek lovingly. Who'd have known that in just a year scrawny little Odd would have become the tallest boy of the group? "How was the appointment?" she asked, nervousness evident in her voice. She'd been worried about it all day, the thought of having nearly lost him exactly a year before adding to the anxiety.

Odd grinned and placed his hands on her hips. "I'm pleased to tell you that you have yourself a perfectly healthy boyfriend, Miss Lizzy," he said, having decided long before that he liked the nickname for her. "And now that I've finally been approved for sports at school, I can convince Jeremie to let me start fighting on Lyoko again! My mom was really happy… About the sports, I mean… She obviously doesn't know about Lyoko."

Sissi smiled, knowing how excited he got whenever he thought about how close he now was with his parents. She stared at him silently for a moment before pulling him into a tight hug. "Sissi?" Odd said in confusion.

Sissi just shushed him, and she felt him hug her back. She loved the way that they seemed to fit perfectly into each other's arms.

"Guys, aren't you going to get some cake!" Aelita shouted cheerfully from across the room.

They ignored the presence of the others. Odd began humming the song again and dancing slowly with Sissi in his arms. Sissi giggled at his romantic, yet cliché antics, but she decided to join in anyway. She kissed his cheek and sang the ending words of their song in his ear. "There's you and me, and all of the people. I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you…"

* * *

**So... there it is... Oh geez... I miss writing this story already. Again, thank you so much to every one of my reviewers for making this story so enjoyable to write!**

**Just in case you guys don't remember, the song that Odd was humming/singing is "You and Me" by Lifehouse... It was the one that was playing on the CD that he burned for Sissi.**


End file.
